I was really excited to run this race, this morning. It was
going to be a good one, I could just feel it. We were ready in plenty of time,
we found good parking, the weather was great, and the course was flat! I didn’t
have any specific goal in mind, except to just do my best and see what
happened.
I went out a little fast and started to get a little tired
and winded about a half a mile in and realized that I had been running at an 11
minute mile pace. That’s quite a bit faster than I normally run. I wanted to
stop and walk so I could catch my breath, but I decided to try just slowing
down instead. I was surprised that it helped and so I decided to push through
until I hit mile one before I took a walk break. I was still feeling pretty
good at mile one, so I decided to see how much farther I could go before I
really needed a walk break. I was starting to feel like it was time to stop,
but checked my watch and realized I was almost at mile 2, so I decided to push
for that goal next. I made it to mile 2 and was feeling good again, so I kept
pushing. I was doing great on time, too. By the time I hit mile 2.5 I decided I
wasn’t going to walk until I crossed the finish line, and I was going to PR.
I could see I was coming up on mile 3, and I was still
feeling great - a little tired, but not too bad. My breathing was under control
and I still had enough energy to pick up the pace a little. As I reached the
final corner, I saw Jerry and threw him a “thumbs up”. I was ready to dig in
and sprint to the finish as soon as I came around the corner. Unfortunately, I
found myself coming up behind a large group of finishers, including several
strollers. I was picking up speed before I realized they were staggered just
enough that squeezing through them wasn’t going to work. Determined not to slow
down, I found a spot to the far right of the group that would be enough room to
maneuver around them. I had to turn almost 90 degrees and run behind them,
through the gap and then practically cut off a stroller, all in a hard sprint
but I passed them and I crossed the finish line with my best 5k time ever!
42:26
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