Jelly Bean Virtual 5K

If you haven't heard of Run with Jess' 3rd Annual Jelly Bean Run... I'm pretty sure you've been living under a rock

There are 3 distances you can choose from to participate in  March 20-March 31:

Run 5k

Run 10k

Run Half-Marathon

Bike 21k

The special part about this virtual race is once the race window closes, random participants who submitted their results for the distances they completed will be selected for prizes, sign me up!

Yesterday was the opening day and since I still haven't broken in my new Saucony Virattas, I thought testing them out with a 5k on the treadmill (easier to control my stride on the 'mill) would be a good way to kickoff the event. 

Ready to go

Close up of my bib and new shoes :)

As stated many times before, I really want to fall in love with my shoes. For 2 years I was in Saucony Guides and then I was told I don't overpronate so I could be in a neutral shoe. I was placed in the Brooks Glycerine and although I loved them in the store, I actually think they are too bulky, and ironically are MORE heavy that the guides. I've been noticing I love running in my Newtons and Assics which both have minimal cushioning, so I thought it might finally be time to see if I can truly run in a zero drop shoe- thus my obsession began with Virattas. 

I'm super awful at warming up on treadmill, so I figured I'd start my 5k at 8 min /mile pace and then every .5 I would increase speed 2 levels to see how 'going fast' felt in the shoes. By mile 2 my feet were feeling fine, but my lungs were having difficulty keeping up, so I increased the speed more and upped the ramp so it would force me to lengthen my stride which translates into fewer steps and not bouncing around as much

Note to self: taking a photo while running = blurry photo (and next time turn off the flash... also all the cool kids go matchy matchy to the gym--- unplanned) 

The last .5 mile of the run I forced myself to do 6:20 pace... can I run that in real life toward the end of a 5k.... absolutely NOT, but on a treadmill its all about the stride and the faster I go, the heavier my stride becomes which would naturally make me land on my heel more and I wanted to see how it would feel if I ended up heel striking in a zero drop shoe. DIDN'T EVEN FEEL IT---amazing!

Finished the 5k with a new adult PR- 23:01. Had I done the math beforehand, I would have adjusted the pace so I could have made up a measely 2 seconds, but I guess thats a different goal for a different day.  

Happy with the run one I did in these, now a day later and my calves really aren't that sore, so I will be testing them out for a 4 or 5 miler to see how they go. In the past 6 miles has been my determining factor.... I can run in almost anything for 6 miles, but after that is when different pains set in. 

First Jelly Bean virtual race a success-- next up, 10k!