I was registered to run the local St. Paddy's Double race event this weekend: a 5K Saturday and half marathon Sunday. That of course didn't happen. We were given the option to run the virtual version. I've never run a virtual race before but figured I should probably get used to 'em...

Saturday morning I walked to the trail and did my warmup. I designated a crack in the asphalt as the official start line, started my watch, and took off. I wanted to use my "inner animal" and just try and hit my best sustainable pace across the three miles without looking at my watch. I didn't know what that pace even was, since we've mostly been doing intervals or long easy runs, so I just tried to listen to my body.

No crowds. No aid stations. No music or funny signs. But I still tried to visualize it as a race, give it the respect it deserved, treat it as a legitimate test of my ability. So I found ways to enjoy it. And I focused on staying steady and running my best race. The result: 26:26, a new PR, nearly a full minute faster than my last 5K in November. 8:31/mi is slow for most, but for me, that's super duper awesome fast.

I came home, did the time starved bike ride in the evening. Oof, legs were mad. I got up today to do the half marathon. Oof, legs were REALLY mad. Oh, and I haven't run a half marathon in a decade...

This morning, I lined up at the same crack in the sidewalk. Mentally, I blasted AC/DC's Thunderstruck in my head since there were no loudspeakers to blast it in real life and my legs needed motivating. It was a relatively hilly route, and partly on gravel. The first couple miles I cursed the universe but by mile 4.5 I felt better. I popped a gel at 45 minutes as I'd planned. I did peek at my watch on some of the mile splits. My pace was improving almost every time. On a particularly good negative split I sternly quoted Star Wars to myself: Nice shot, kid. NOW DON'T GET COCKY.

So I worked on holding steady, sustainable RPE and not getting cocky. I saw my dad walking the trail at mile 9 and got a quick high five and critical mental boost. But the water bottle/gel I'd stashed at mile 10 had fallen over in the dirt and were gross. So I kept running. Which felt OK... until about mile 11.5 when I was certain I'd died somewhere back at 11.2. BUT, I told myself, I'd gone further over the last 24 hours than I ever had IN MY LIFE by this point. A swig of water and gel, with only a few minutes left, wasn't really going to make much difference. My HR and pace were still decent. My head was clear. I was OK. Was this uncharted territory? Yes. But dangerous territory? No. I gave myself a pep talk and started setting small goals to get from one little landmark to the next.

And I made it! The result: 2:09:10, and didn't have to walk any hills. I absolutely ran my best possible race, and I was SO happy with the result. (Not sure PR's really count when it's been 10 years since your last race, but I did also cut about 14 minutes off my previous best...). And I negative split almost every mile - starting at a 10:43 and ending at a 9:20. I laid down in the middle of the trail when I got to to the end, and basked in the sun and my own glory.

Nobody gave me a medal or cheered me on. But I made the best of it and still had a GREAT race weekend. I beat my own expectations, which felt as good as (or better than) beating random strangers.

PPF's bike, swim, strength, fueling habits, and holistic mental approach are what got me to a point where I could even think about doing two races in a weekend, and definitely what got me to a point where I could truly run them as well as possible and end up with really awesome results. These are crazy times, but it felt good to focus on this goal and get, for me anyway, a big win.