I ran the virtual Hive Hustle 10 Miler this past Friday. I really had not trained for it specifically, but kept my fitness up since completing the 50k in October.

It made for a fun later half of October and November. With no specific goals, I was able to run what I felt and when I felt like running. Enjoyed some Saturday runs with the Franklin Road Runners and some Wednesday evening runs with the Hill Runners of Spring Hill.

Going into the race weekend, I knew that I had 3 days to find the time run the 10 miles. Well, I learned Thursday evening that it was supposed to rain most of the day Saturday and Sunday would be busy with church and other activities, so I decided on Friday morning. I had asked a number of my running friends on nice flat courses they had run to help get a faster time. Running Friday morning, I was stuck running my usual route.

I was up at 5am and had a couple Honey Stinger chews along with a few sips of my Nuun drink. Well, I stepped outside and it felt colder than 39 degrees. My hands were definitely feeling the cold by mile 5. My pace was too fast starting out at around 6:30 for the first mile. Followed by a 6:49 second mile. Two miles under 7:00 minute pace is unusual for me and I knew I had to slow it down. Wanting to be competitive, I tried to ensure I felt like I was pushing it. My goal was to average between a 7:15 and a 7:20 pace. Well, it must have been the cold weather or my frozen hands, as my pace was a 7:08.

So, I was curious to see how I would place against these potential 1,000 other Honey Stinger Ambassadors. Fun checking it throughout the weekend and dropping from 11th to 40th as people uploaded their times.

A virtual run is a different kind of race. Not sure I would do it again, but enjoyed the experience.

@honeystinger #honeystingerambassador #honeystingerhive #hivehustle10