6th 5K of the season

As has been eluded to in numerous posts, today was the Skirtchaser 5K. This is going to be a loooong blog, so deal with it, or go read someone elses. :-p

Today we made sure to eat well. Granted we woke up WAY later than we should have, which kind of threw us off in terms of our gameplan, but we dealt with it. Ate a good breakfast of oatmeal, eggs, turkey sausage, and milk and orange juice. Ate that around 11:00 am. At 2:15 or so, went to Jamba Juice for a smoothie. I got a peach smoothie, but probably one size too big. Future mental note. On the way to the race, we stopped at Target for a bagel and cream cheese, string cheese, and a banana.

We got to the mall near the start of the course and parked the car. Changed into our shoes and made our way to the start of the race course. When we got there, I immediately grabbed a bottle of Powerade and hit the porta-potty. Then girlfriend and I stretched out. There really wasn't much of a place to stretch, so we found a patch of grass and did our thing. Then did a little bit of jogging and some calisthenics to really warm up.

Girlfriend got to the start of the race, and after hearing some speech from the woman who started skirtsports, the girls started running. Us guys then got to the start and waited 3 minutes, then we were off. I was up towards the front, which I wasn't a big fan of, but got pushed towards there and didn't have much choice.

The race started and immediately I was trying to keep up with all the crazy dudes running next to me. I was like this is stupid though, and slowed it down. Through the first half mile, I had the feeling that this was going to be a great run.

Unfortunately, I never saw the Mile 1 marker, and seriously, it's amazing how that can drag down your spirit. And it shows on my Nike+ thing. However, I pushed myself to the turnaround.

At the turn around, my speed picked up a bit and I knew I was going to crack 30 in the race. It's funny actually; there was never a point during this 5K where I was in massive pain; there was never a point where I was dying; there was never a point where I really slowed my pace down.

When I rounded the corner for the final turn, I could see the finish line. And the best part was, the course was designed so the final run was downhill. My pace steadily picked up and I was passing people! I started my final sprint WAAAAAAAAAAY too early, but still crossed the finish line feeling good. I shattered my best time of the year with a 28:42.

Post race, girlfriend was in pain, so we really didn't participate in the post-race festivities. Not only that, but the post race food was TERRIBLE!! No bananas, no bagels, no gels, juices, etc. Mizfit, if you are going to do this, bring your own post-race food. Trust me, you will not regret it.

I am very happy though. Best 5K of the season, something to build on, and finally, finally, I am feeling like a runner.