By I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again. I LOVE spring time running. Without any big races to train for, the pressure is off and the small, fun races are on! One of those races was the second annual Autism Speaks 8K in Sugar Land.
I was lucky enough to be asked to lead the pre-race stretch on behalf of Revolution Studio. I led the crew, which included kids and mascots (both firsts for me), through some pre-race mobility before we hit the start line. Plus, some of my favorite yogis came out to run the race with me!
It’s a small race, as it’s only the second year, but I’m excited to see it grow. It’s a great cause, lovely course, and has one of the best post-race parties for a race its size! To get the obvious out of the way, yes an 8k is a weird distance. It’s just under 5 miles (about 4.97 according to my Garmin), which is a really fun distance to run. It takes a little more strategy and pacing than a 5K, but there’s room for more speed than a 10K. Plus, since this isn’t a distance I run regularly, it was almost a guaranteed PR. I ran this race last year with pretty pitiful pacing (I ran it almost like a 5K and totally crashed and burned), so this year I ran a negative split and was about a minute and a half faster.
My time of 37:49.7 was good enough for second overall female (and sixth overall) which came with some great swag. As the winner of my age-group I was given four tickets to the Astro’s game along with plaques hand-painted by children with Autism.
As the weather starts to heat up, so will my milage! Stay tuned for more race recaps and training tips coming later this summer.
Loving life on the run. 