Running 10K

On running 10K

Today I ran a 10k (10 kilometers, a quarter of a marathon) sponsored by Vienna Running Club in Virginia. I did not prepare actively and only looked up the recommended schedule for it the day before (which convinced me I shouldn’t try a half-marathon that’s doubled the distance). What I did was essentially 1) making sure I was not tired/injured (by not running for the past 3 days), 2) drinking lots of water the day before, and 3) getting a good night sleep. I had been running up for around 5-6 miles at least weekly at around 9 mins/mile pace prior, so my plan was to just keep moving below that pace for the entire duration as much as possible.

Route and pace of 10K from Strava

Generally, I am satisfied with my results. I was with the fast group until around 4 miles when we started going thru hills (which was much more exhausting to me than other runners). I was aware that we sped up after 2 miles (around the turn to Gallows road), but it was easy to keep up as the road was mostly flat. I slowed down a lot around miles 4-5 especially for the hills with steep incline. I plan to work on that along with interval running. I feel tired but happy after the run.

On running with others during COVID-19:

I have been running outdoor every Tuesday with the group since early Summer. I think it is relatively safe compared with indoor sports. Otherwise, I wasn’t very motivated to run (instead I walked with my mom almost every other day).

I think I need the companionship/peer pressure to push myself to exercise more. I don’t socialize much after the run (due partly to COVID-19, my hearing, laziness, and simram), but just having people working towards the same goal is motivating to my mind, especialy for tasks I generally dislike. I have been working on this during meditation.

On Exercise

I will make another post on the exercise routine I’m failing to follow. It is essentially:

• running 3x/week
• bodyweight+core 3x/week (so far I’m only doing this maybe 0.5x/week)
• yoga 1-2x/week