One of most exciting parts of spring, in my opinion, is the ability to get outside for a run. I’ve only had one outside run in 2015 so I was excited to be joining the Running With the Irish 5k up at the Indiana Dunes state park yesterday.
With not a lot of outside running (mostly treadmill this winter) I decided to just see what my legs/lungs do and push myself as far as they would go.
First things first, this was one of the most organized races I have ever been a part of. Last year I did 11 races all together but nothing topped this in terms of organization. From registration to the after run food it was all around a great race. Seriously though, any race that gives you chocolate covered strawberries as an after race treat wins my heart.
My friend Amy and I arrived with about 45 minutes until the start of the race. We had time to register, hit up the potty (twice) and get to the start line with time to spare.
The race took us on a loop around the Indiana Dunes State Park through some of the smaller hills. Although, starting going down hill sounded like a great idea at the time I later realized that it meant we had to end going uphill. My legs were not too thrilled with that.
I finished with a time of 25:59 and I was pretty happy overall with that. I specifically did not set a goal time and just decided to see how I felt. With most of the first half of the race being down hill and the second half being up, my splits were not in the negatives but they felt pretty good.
Mile 1: 8:20
Mile 2: 8:23
Mile 3: 8:35
Overall it just felt great to be outside. I truly couldn’t complain with the weather in the high 40s and a slight breeze off of Lake Michigan. Amy and I both were breaking in new shoes, so the race needed a new shoe selfie.
Shoes are Brooks Adrenaline GTS 15 & Saucony Xodus (I think), Pants are from Fabletics & Old Navy Active.
What did you do this weekend?