This was a 5K fun run, and it was part of our city's "Art Walk" festival. It was supposed to start at Totem Park, and lot of us were like, "Where is Totem Park?" We figured out that it is the bottom of a bridge that has a restored totem pole. OK...
So, again, small town, lots of parking at the nearby stores, no need to be too early. So I drive down the bridge at 7:30 am, and NO ONE is there! WTH??? OK, where is Totem Park, seriously? I park at the local outdoor store, and it's one of those moments I'm so glad I own an iPhone. I pull up the race page...race starts at NINE O'CLOCK! UGHHH! So I call my friend D and she gets a good laugh.
Eventually it all comes together, and at 8:30 we line up for the race. My friend D and her daughter M also entered the race. D does about 2-3 races a month, and she pushes her daughter in every single one. Before the birth of M, D did all sorts of Tri-events and races, so she is getting back into it, and it's awesome to have a friend to enter events with! She is actually the person who got me to do the St. Patrick's Day Dash in Seattle (the one in which I had the flu..grrr....)
Another friend, C, was also there, so it was a lot of fun to finally enter a race with her too. And another person I met on a FB running book page also entered the race. Unfortunaly, there weren't as many people as I had hoped for. The organizers did a good job, and hopefully it can attract more next year.
My knee/leg was feeling good, so I decided I'd go all out, and all out I did! Too much. I started off way too fast. I passed a lady at about mile 1, and then she was a good 50 yards behind me. Unfortunately, in the last mile, I had no steam left, and she past me. It was a lot of fun and a good reminder why I do not start fast. I had nothing left to kick into gear with. It was another good reminder as to why I shouldn't run the day before a race--my legs were heavy by the last 1/2 mile.
Results? I'm very happy. My goal, due the the circumstances, was to finish under 31 minutes, but I knew I could pull of around 30. My time ended up being 28min 28sec! Yep, 28:28, 9:30ish pace. I was far more tired after this race than I was the 8K (5 mile) race last week, with a pace of 9:41. But, I am happy with the time. In fact, out of 4 in my age group, I was 2nd--14 seconds behind the gal who passed me at the end! We had a great chat at the end...it was a fun race!
Now, my goal is to get back into longer distances again. My next race is another 5 mile race on the coast on Aug. 11. I'd like to maintain my time of 48 minutes. Overall, I just want to get some longer runs in. That's what I enjoy the most! Until then....
Thanks for reading!
Jolene
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