"Go hard. Puke or it doesn't count."
I don't like to puke, but I got the point.
Race morning was a little hectic. The race didn't start until 11:00am which meant there were no alarms set in our house. The baby woke us up sometime in the 7:00 hour so we pulled him in bed with us for some snuggling. Next thing we knew it was 9:00 and we needed to get moving. We didn't really know how cold it was going to be so I didn't know if I would be going to the race by myself, taking the baby to my parents so Dave could come along, or if the whole family would be going. It was going to be in the mid-30s so we decided to bundle up the baby and go as a family, which bought us an additional 15 minutes. That 15 minutes didn't matter as we got to the site, I waited in line at the bathroom, lost Dave and Anderson, and only had time for a short warmup. I found Dave again, who took my sweats, and then it was time to line up.
Look at my cute spectators.
This was a big 5K, like 1500 people, and even had pace groups. Pace groups for a 5K? Whatever. Anyway, I lined up right in front of the 25:00 pace group as they were nearly in the front of the pack. The plan was to start conservatively and I really tried. First mile was 7:15. The second mile had a lot of twists and turns, so it was hard to pick up any speed - 7:18. The last mile was all about catching people, including the chick who had passed me at the end of mile 1. I worked and got some people including that girl, but then quickly got a stitch in my side which slowed me down a little. The girl passed me again (she would have beat me anyway because the race was chipped time and she started behind me). I pushed until the verge of throwing up (that's for you coach) and then the race was over. Mile 3 was a 7:11.
Those are gloves tucked in my pants; I'm not that blubbery post-baby.
My time was a 22:45 which is about a minute off my PR but faster than anything I have run since I had the baby. I love working with a coach; she gives me confidence to run fast even when I've had minimal training due to baby, house for sale, work, etc. I'm looking forward to crashing the PR party in 2014.
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