Earlier this week I just went crazy online and found races and signed up. I think I might even be able to get to my 12 races for the year, that's how crazy I went. In fact, I have three races in three weeks. I. CAN'T. WAIT.
I started out with a local 5K today. The run I did on Friday had been great: 7.3 trail miles at a 9:05 average with 3.5 of those miles under a 9:00 pace. I was pretty confident I might be able to run in the 8:00s for a 5K and come in right around a 25:00ish. The weather was chilly for a Memorial Day run but great for a faster race. The race was small - around 300 people - so I lined up just a little back from the start line. Of course, I was lined up behind a small girl and in front of someone who looked serious. Hmm, this ought to be interesting.
Anderson looked ready to race.
I sorta look ready to race.
Even with a bad self-seeding I got off pretty good and just got comfortable. I wasn't expecting much from this race. I just wanted to use it as a jumping off point for the year. I hit the first mile marker at 7:52. Okay, well, that's faster than I thought I would be and I'm not dying.
Before the second mile marker was a water stop. I took some water, or so I thought, and had a sip. Yuck! Orange Gatorade. Seriously, who needs Gatorade in a 5K? (I guess you could make the argument, who needs water in a 5K?) I hit the second mile marker at 7:50. Wow! Consistent.
But then I was in no man's land. I had passed a bunch of people but there was really no one ahead of me to catch. The Gatorade had caused a cramp in my stomach and so I stopped and walked for a blink of a second. Who walks in a 5K? I got moving again and saw Dave and the munchkin. I felt like hell and might have looked like it too.
Dave pointed out to me that I was the fifth female and that there was a little girl ahead of me. Yep, I was being beat not only by a dog that had passed me earlier, but by a 10 year old girl. Awesome. I tried my hardest to catch that little girl, pulling a 7:38 third mile, but came up a little short. Although in the official results I did beat her by one second. Gotta love chip timing.
I was the fourth overall female finisher with a time of 24:06. It's a long way from where I was last year at this time, but pretty good for having a C-section just 8 weeks ago. It's a good jumping off point for the rest of the season.
2 comments:
And who gives medals for 5ks?
I walked during a 5k once and had the same thought! Who walks during 5ks, I guess I do now!
ALL the races around here include a shirt, a medal, and chip timing. That's why the prices are obnoxiously expensive.
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