Virtual Race Recap: Revenge of the 5th 5K

Last night I ran my first virtual race of the season. If you aren't sure what a virtual race is, the people over at Jost Running give a pretty good explanation.

Last year, I took part in the inaugural Nerd Herd Running trilogy that included the May the Fourth be With You 5K, Happy Birthday Harry Potter 10K, and the Banned Books Week Half Marathon. All the medals joined up to make their logo:

All of their profits went to cancer research and I love nerdy things, so I knew I would have to do the series again this year! Little did I know, things would get even better. This year's runs are the Revenge of the Fifth 5K, Lord of the Bling 10K, and The Rebellion Begins Half Marathon. They all make a super awesome shield and have been dubbed "The Hero's Quest".

Oh, and they all will make a 9 inch shield when put together (the top part is for completing the whole series)! 

Yesterday was the Revenge of the Fifth (since Sunday was May the 4th be With You) and I absolutely did not feel like running. It was my last day of class and I got up earlier than normal for my final, and then I had to do a bunch of final assignments for some other classes. I then came home and was hit in the face by my allergies. The pollen count has been really bad here lately, and I've been feeling it.

Oh, and it's getting worse.

I was tired and sniffly and all I wanted to do was nap (which I did). But I was dead set on running this on the 5th, and so I printed out my bib for some motivation. I then did a Google search for "running with allergies" and found out that in the Spring it is actually better to run later in the day since trees pollinate in the morning. I figured I would give it a try and head out. 

I actually ran really well. I wasn't planning on running fast at all, I just wanted to listen to my body. I was coughing a bit thanks to the allergies, and my nose was running, but I finished in 33:45, which is amazing for me. A year ago for the May the 4th race, I ran my fastest 5K ever to that point at 34:43. I was barely trying last night and beat that! Its crazy how much faster and stronger I have gotten!

There's a costume contest on Nerd Herd's Facebook page, so I figured I would participate. Zach got me this awesome R2D2 tank top, and I bought the ears at Disney World a few years ago. Add a tutu, and it's the perfect girly Star Wars running costume! (Okay, I didn't wear the ears while I ran. There's no way they would have stayed on!)

Official race photo. Thanks to Zach for being a willing photographer!

Last night's run was a great one, and knowing that I almost skipped out made me feel even better after finishing! Thanks, Nerd Herd for such a fun series, looking forward to the next one already!

I'll be getting this bad boy in about a month. His eyes glow in the dark!