Virtual Race Beneficiary
Conquer COVID-19 virtual run participants could choose a local race store to benefit from registration. I chose Front Running Sports in Lake Mary, Florida.
Virtual Race Goal
I hadn't been feeling myself for a few days, with some mild stomach issues and general feeling of lethargy and malaise. This race needed to be completed by May 15th so I decided to walk it without a particular time goal. I figured it would take me two hours at most. If I was feeling better my goal wouldn't have been too ambitious anyway, since I haven't run so far in a while. Maybe 82 or 85 minutes. There was a time that I had hoped for a sub hour 10K! My 10K PR is 1:03:29 set way back in 2016 at Suck It Up Buttercup.
Race Day: May 12, 2020
We had some gorgeous weather at the beginning of May. It was about 66°F at the start of my walk, with clear skies and 73% humidity.
Mile 1, 2, 3: 16:04, 14:55, 15:06
I walked most of the first mile with a couple of really short runs thrown in. I started feeling better and jogged a bit more in the next two miles, but without set intervals. I mostly jogged the gimmes -- the downhills.
Mile 4, 5, 6+: 13:55, 13:38, 12:41, 1:29
I kept looking at my watch. I felt better as the miles went on and added more short, slow run spurts. After mile 4 (where I got just a little bit lost for a minute) I thought I'd try to hit sub-90 minutes. Why not? I felt good enough for that little push. I finished just under 90 minutes at 1:28:33.
Swag
For this race I got a nice cotton blend t-shirt (optional) and a funny coronavirus-themed spinner medal. The packet also came with a car decal and a temporary tattoo.
Recommendation
This was my first virtual race from Runtastic Events and communication was pretty good. The medal and shirt are both nice. If I was interested in the theme or charity, I would purchase another virtual race from this company.
Garmin GPS elapsed time: 1:28:33
Cost: $38 (the t-shirt was a $10 upcharge)
Report written May 12, 2020
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