Doing a Virtual Race - FlexItPink's Summer SoulMate Fun Run

5K down, 5 to go!

COUNTING DOWN TO THE RUN 10 FEED 10 on September 20th.
On August 8th, I tried something new. My first virtual run was similar to the Rapha Women's 100 in that you choose the route in your area and do it with or without others. While I really love the "Girl Power" element of the organized races, sometimes getting to them can take longer than the run itself. So when I had the opportunity to run a 5K/10K in my own area, I jumped at the chance.

I'm blessed to live within cycling distance to a park which just put in a new fitness trail with mile markers. After first checking it out on my bicycle, I saw where to begin. I parked my bicycle so that I could run over to it for a quick drink of water. That way I didn't have to carry a bottle with me.

Oh so lucky 1313! Hoka One One Bondi 4 Road Shoes

I dressed really light but the day had low humidity in the mid 80's at 9 am. Perfect! This was my running outfit as can be seen above. A few pieces from my cycling wardrobe worked well for the ride over and the run itself. The Bondi 4 are Road Shoes with a bit of grip. This makes them just as nimble on a gravel trail. They performed amazingly. These are super cushioned so my ankles and knees felt fine after doing 10K + not including the 3.73 mileage I put on the bicycle getting to the race.

Start of the 5K Trail Head

Just to review a 5K is about 3.1 miles. So just double that by going around twice to get 6.2 miles for a 10K. The FlexitPink Summer SoulMate Fun Run was open for walking, running or cycling. The idea was to grab a partner and do the run together. Since I had never run this particular trail, I decided to do it alone but there were so many other people out there, I wasn't lonely! The mile markers really do help and I was enjoying being out with the other runners on the track.

3.73 miles on top of the 8 + miles logged today.

So I would highly recommend trying a virtual run this summer. It helped me find a new spot to train for the upcoming Women's Health Magazine's  Run10 Feed10 at Hudson River Park in NYC. This should help me to improve my time/speed prior to the NY race. Right now I am doing intervals of walking/ running and trying to lengthen out the sprints. I do think it's working as I've gotten much stronger since April's More Fitness Half Marathon.

My Finisher's Medal from this day's run.

So definitely check out  Run10Feed10.com to sign up for this race to run 10K to FEED 10 people here in the United States. I've followed and supported The FEED Projects for years and think they are a worthwhile organization. My elite XTreme XTraining readers will get $5 off the $55 registration fee by entering promo code: R10F10PR!