11/16/13
Herrin, IL
Time: 29:23 (PR!)
Confession: Before this 5k, I had only ran twice since my marathon. One of those "runs" was a run/walk (emphasis on walk) with Tim around Murphy Lake to see the Fall colors. The second run was on Columbus Day with Leah and Tim-- and it was HARD. I had achy bits after we finished. Not fun. Needless to say, I didn't have any major hopes for this 5k. Just wanted to get my feet back to pounding the pavement!
This is only the second 5k I have done this year, which seems crazy to me, but I hurt myself last spring at Fly With The Eagles and had to skip out on a lot of the Spring races. Then, marathon training took over my life. It's nice to be able to sign up for some fun runs without stressing about how I was going to get my long run in.
This is the first time I ran the 5k race at this event. In 2011, I did the 10k and Tim ran the 15k. Neither of us cared for the course because it was just the 5k course repeated either 2 or 3 times. Not something I'd want to do again. The biggest reason why we wanted to sign up for this one was the shirt was super cute. I mean, it has a turkey on it!
The day of the event was cloudy and chilly, but not nearly as cold as it could have been. The real issue was the wind. Standing at the start line wasn't too bad, but once we started, I was running against the wind during most of the first mile. My shins just didn't like that too much. The course is pretty flat for the first mile and half with a few small hills around the midpoint. My first mile was faster than my typical 5k, but I think it was because I was trying to stay with some girls that I had talked to before the start. They were young pups, so I was only able to keep up with them for about three quarters of a mile. I was feeling pretty good and not really focusing on time or anything. I was pushing more than a typical run, but not to the point that I was miserable. This is one of the reasons I hate 5k races. I always feel like I'm about to die, yet I'm still going so very slow compared to everyone else. Shrug.
After the water station and the hills, I played the "fishing game." I'd focus on a person in front of me and just try to either catch up or pass them. This usually helps me stay focused during the last mile of most races. Otherwise, I'd just constantly look at my Garmin to see how much further I had to run. :/ I managed to pass 4 runners when out of nowhere a girl in a green shirt flew past me. I think she may have been playing the same game. I tried my hardest to catch up with her, but ol' girl was just sprinting at the end, so I did not succeed. When my watch beeped at mile 3, I looked down and realized that I was going to come in under 30 minutes, possibly a personal best for me. Woot! I made sure to get my high fives from Tracy's girls and crossed the finish line with a big ol' smile on my face.
I found Tim and he was feeling pretty good about his time as well: 21:54. He admitted he yakked after he crossed the finish line, but he was pretty sure he placed in his age group. We stuck around to watch Tracy's girls run in the kid's mile run. They were awesome! Kinsley was the first girl to cross the finish line and Kealey had so much determination in her face when she finished! It's so cool to see kids doing the running thing. If Tim and I have kiddos, I hope they are as into running as we are.
Tim did end up coming in first in his age group. The boy is on fire and I'm a bit jelly that he can pull out these times without a lot of preparation. Although, he'd be the first to tell you that his legs have been sore all week because of it! :P
Upcoming Events:
Turkey Burn Off Trail Run- 11/30/13
Ugly Sweater Fun Run/Walk- 12/7/13
Santa's North Pole Dash- 12/14/13
Frostbite 5k Jog for James- 1/11/13
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