This morning was the 7th annual Purple Pride 5k to kick off the Orlando City Soccer season. I must say, I am proud of the girl who showed up today!
This opportunity made me feel closer to where I used to be and helped me see that my goals are coming into focus. I need to stay patient, give it some time, and keep putting in the work.
On December 29th, I clocked a disappointing 30:33 5k, when doing an unofficial time trial assessment. With a 5k PR of 25:06, never have I ever run that slow 😞 After a full year of 70.3 triathlon training, I knew something had to give, and I was beyond ready for a change.
I crave speedy sessions and the feeling of leaving it all on the pavement! That kind of training does not go hand-in-hand with 50+ mile bike rides and hour-plus long swims. So, I decided it was time to focus on developing that quick turnover again with a 5k training block to kick off 2022. A running coach wouldn’t be a bad idea either.
For some reason I seem to be ‘uncoachable’. In my attempts to reach out to local triathlon coaches, I have either been dismissed, ignored, or put in the beginner level groups. After 7 years of racing triathlon and 30 years of running, that’s just not what I’m looking for. While a bit frustrating, I channeled that energy into getting my own run coaching certification.
It’s been about 6 weeks of dedicated 5k training and 3 weeks of coaching myself. The gains are starting to appear! I shaved about 3 minutes off my time, but still need to work on not going out too fast in the first mile. I did execute a proper pre-race warm up today, went to bed on time last night, and hydrated well ahead of this event. I have a few more races lined up over the coming weeks and plan to keep making, and sharing, forward progress! 💜
Determined to Tri AND Run 