Friday, I took on another canine-centric virtual race, the Doggy Dashers 5K.  It’s hard for me to avoid a race that benefits dogs, cancer or veteran causes.  Or is patriotic in nature.  Or has a cool medal.

Every run right now is gearing up for the biggest two weeks on my race calendar, with the Rocky Balboa 5K coming up in Philly next weekend, and the Route 66 5K and half marathon the weekend after that.  And as is typical right before big races, I struggle to get out on the course.  I don’t want to hurt any body part that would keep me from running, and I start having self-doubts about the races to come.  Silly, stupid Colin tricks.

Lunchtime Friday was brilliant — blue skies, and perfect temps in the 50s.  I couldn’t have asked for a better day to get out.  It was my intent to just take it easy, and simply put some miles in to stay ready for the big races to come.  And basically, that’s what I did, spending about half my time at a trot, and the other half at a fast walk.  These are foundational runs for me, because I see the results of all my training this year.  Last year, I was painfully striving for 5km times under fifty minutes.  Now, that’s pretty regular, without really having to try very hard to do it.  It’s a huge difference mentally for me, since almost every time I run, I beat the goals that I’ve held for so long.

There are more runs to come over the next week leading up to the long drive to Philly on Thursday night, and I can only hope they go as well as this one!

This race benefitted the Northwest Boxer Rescue.

Race Course