Things Left Unsaid

Just before I began to type these things, I looked at the countdown timer thingy on my phone, and I saw that the start time to my running event is 6 weeks, 6 days, 5 hours and 25 minutes away. I'm not sure why I called it thingy. Thingamajig. Thingamabob. Doohickey. lol. App. I looked at the app, gosh darn it to heck! I'm not old. Yes I am!

My event is getting quite close. Some time ago I decided to do the 5k this year instead of the half marathon, so I changed my registration. I guess decided is not entirely the right word to use. Had to decide to. This will be my first live event 5k.

Back when I first started running, when everything was shutting down for covid restrictions, I did some virtual 5k events. Register, get a running kit and finisher medal in the mail, then do the run whenever wherever, then submit tracker data to them to prove you ran. Be in the stats. It was as ok thing for a beginner runner I suppose.

Not at all like lining up in person with a crowd of people. Pictures and video being taken by photographers on the ground, and with a drone whizzing overhead. Lining up at the start line instructions being spoken through a speaker (that no one ever seems to even hear, let alone care about or follow). Music blaring.

The gun goes off.

Some oblivious dude you are passing blows their nose on your leg. Smelly people. Extremely fit and fast, wrinkle free young people, floating along effortlessly at an unreal pace, like they are made out of liquid. They look like they are in a picture in a fitness magazine or a shoe ad. Groups of slow people blocking most of the road, who have to talk to each other the entire race. One of them is wearing fuzzy deer antlers for some reason.

There is always a handful of runners who look like they might die from exertion less than 1/2k in after the gun. They registered and showed up with zero prep because 'running is easy' or 'I ran all the time in high school'. That's always really insane to see when they are wearing a full or half marathon bib.

Police and event volunteers on bikes directing traffic because a lot of locals can't just stay home for a few extra hours one Saturday morning a year. Crowds of cheering people on the edge of the road with signs. Dodge a puddle of vomit. Some guy pissing into the ditch. I haven't seen anyone shit themselves... yet. Yes, virtual race is not like an actual race.

Not like going for a 5k before sunrise by myself.

omg that sounds so unappealing and not fun... lol. Why the hell am I doing this? I don't know. Because I'm 50+ and I can, I suppose. It is out of my comfort zone. It actually is fun. It is the reason we began heading north for vacation once a year every year since 2021.

I got a virus some months ago. The illness had only minor symptoms, so I never went to the doctor or got tested. I think it was covid... again. Slight sore throat for a day or two, occasional coughing spell for some days. Tiredness beyond normal. Then I started to really struggle with running. I was becoming terribly fatigued and out of breath long before I should have been. I was doing 5k runs every other day all winter. Running is never easy, but I could finish a 5k without too much difficulty. When I had that very minor illness suddenly I couldn't manage 2k without feeling like I had to sit down. I was having to walk to catch my breath, especially on hills. It was frustrating more than anything. It lingered for a long time. I do feel better now. The reason I had to change my event was that I felt like it was getting too close to get in enough prep to be ready for a half.

My prepping for this event is quite different than prepping for a half. It is sticking to the eating plan, and is about intensity more than endurance. For a few weeks now I have been doing all cardio wearing a 12 pound weighted vest. It forces me into good posture, and good running form. Engages core. I intend to keep wearing it for all cardio things until near mid September. Then I plan to do a few 7k runs with no vest. Then no running at all for a week before the event. My hope is that I get used to the extra weight. My body will physically adapt to that extra weight, and get stronger. And I hope there will also be a mentally getting used to the extra weight. This is totally an experiment, and I have no idea what the outcome will be. No idea how the race will go.