Prepping for World Police & Fire Games

The 2015 World Police and Fire Games is coming to Fairfax this Summer. It's an international sporting event that occurs every two years. It is incredibly exciting to have it coming here, to our backyard. Reston Runners is coordinating several of the events, including the cross-country 5k & 10k, the triathlon, and the half-marathon. This morning we were heading out to Lake Fairfax to test out the cross-country courses.

I was a bit apprehensive for two reasons:

1. Between work commitments & our family vacation, I hadn't run in nearly 3 weeks!
2. I haven't run cross-country since junior high PE class, but I was pretty sure it wasn't my favorite type of running.

I ignored my apprehension, knowing a big group of the BFFs would be there and with their support I can get through anything. We met by the Lake Fairfax cricket field at 8 am (and there were actually people playing cricket there!) and reviewed the course verbally before taking off.

The BFFs split into two interval groups. One did the usual 2:4 walk:run and a second group did 3:4 run:walk. I joined the second group, along with the other non-cross-country fans. I figured it was the best way to ease into the run.

BFFs on the 5k course

I'm not going to lie - it was tough. I enjoyed the trails and the company. I did not enjoy running on grassy fields. But I did like getting to try something new and seeing what the WPFG competitors would be experiencing.

Me, Susan, Molly, & Carmen on the trails

a demonstration of the steepness of the hill

One unexpected bonus of this morning was the fact that four members of my Rock The Creek Relay team were there and we got to meet each other and start anticipating the fun of that race.

Jamie, me, Norma, & Lee - The Reston Rockettes!

Then I went home and made good on my strength training promise. Freddy coached me through the lunge matrix and my plank series. All in all, a good morning and it felt great to get back to running.