I’d be lying if I said that this weekend was going to be fun. I’m definitely excited about getting to race on back-to-back days, but it’s the nature of the races that will make them less than enjoyable.

On Saturday morning, I will run the Anthem 5K for the sixth time.  This race is the first in the Louisville Triple Crown of running, which will also include a 10K and a 10 miler. I will follow the 5K up with the Shelbyville Sprint Triathlon on Sunday morning. This is the second out of four races in this Sprint Triathlon series.

Due to some massive road/bridge construction in downtown Louisville, the site of the Anthem 5K has moved this year. It’s now out in the southeast end of the county with the route following a road around a business park. Needless to say, the scenery is going to be less than ideal, but I get that there are limited options when it comes to finding a place where 8000+ people can run at the same time! Thanks to the change in venue, I have decided not to put too much pressure on myself to break a PR (Personal Record) on Saturday morning. I have a feeling that things will be pretty hectic around the start of the race and I expect the roads to be very crowded. Weaving in and out of runners is inevitable and will no doubt slow me down a little bit. I also have no idea where 8000+ people are going to park.  At the moment, I’m planning on parking pretty far away so that I won’t be trapped in once I finish. So what effect will a long jog to the race start have on my time for such a short race? I guess I’ll find out. My goal is to run as hard as I can and hopefully come in somewhere near the 20 minute mark.

After a Saturday afternoon of watching college basketball and attending a 5 year-old’s birthday party, I’ll get to pack up all of my triathlon race gear for the first time this season. The “triathlon” I did two weeks ago was only a run and a swim, so I didn’t even have to pack a bag! So at some point in the next three days I will need to switch tires on my bike and do a quick tune-up. I haven’t had Flash on the road since the Deer Creek Challenge Triathlon back in September! The race this Sunday will be in reverse order and will consist of a 5K (3.1 mile) run, a 12 mile bike and a 400 yard swim. I’ve done this exact race twice in the past. My time in 2012 was 1:03:07 and in 2013 was 00:58:15.  When I looked back at my times from last year, I’m really not sure who that dude was…I’ll be very surprised if I can beat that time.

Thanks to my off-season weight lifting program, I’m about 10 pounds heavier than I normally am this time of year. Most of this weight is in the form of muscle, which helps me look good in a bikini, but doesn’t exactly help me out when I’m trying to run a 5K! Just image running wearing a 10 pound weight vest…not exactly a way to gain speed. The goal of my 12-week heaving lifting session was to gain strength and to put back on some of the muscle that I have cannibalized over 3+ years of endurance training. I was able to do both of these things, but now I’m in the process of teaching my body how to run fast with the extra weight. It’s a work in progress.

How’s that for a pessimistic outlook on the weekend? I really am excited to be racing again, hopefully I’ll be just as excited when I cross the finish line on Sunday!

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