I didn't have any goals going into this race. My running has only been consistent for the last 3 months. I've been doing pretty much nothing but slow easy miles and just trying to keep a regular routine and run some decent mileage.
The weather was HOT. About 85* at the start with 22mph winds. But I woke up feeling pretty good. The race is on the south side of the city through a part of town called Beverly. A quaint neighborhood with some nice houses and parks. I ran the race with 3 co-workers and a co-worker's bf named Chris. Chris was in good shape, so we decided to hang together at the start.
The heat was most noticeable while waiting in the starting Chute. 3000+ people crammed shoulder-to-shoulder made it almost difficult to breath. Finally the gun went off and I was able to get some breathing room. After a little bit of weaving around people, Chris and I were able to settle into a nice rhythm. At first it seemed like we may have gone out too fast, but at about 0.5 I could tell we were still ok. We hit the first mile in 7:01.
Around 1.25 miles in Chris was starting to fade but I was still feeling good. There was a slight uphill that I charged, but Chris didn't have it in him so he dropped back and told me to keep going. The pain really started to set in about 1.5 to 1.75. My gut tightened up, and I was feeling some real discomfort. My 2 mile split was a little slower, but knowing I only had about a mile to go was nice. Many of the neighborhood residents turned their sprinklers onto the street, or held hoses to spray runners. It felt really good. With about 0.8 remaining I made a surge and started passing a lot of people. Despite some intense pain, I was feeling pretty good. I caught the 4th place female and she kept up for a bit. But I had a really strong kick to the finish and left her behind. Crossed the line feeling completely exhausted and very satisfied. Got some high-fives and handshakes from a few of the people I passed.
Chris crossed the line about 40 seconds after me, and we waited in the chute for a few more people. Got some post-race food and headed back to a co-worker's place for a nice BBQ.
Mile 1- 7:01
Mile 2- 7:07
Mile 3- 6:38
0.1- 0:36 (5:25 pace)
FINISH- 21:24 (6:51 pace)
Overall I'm happy with this race. It's not even close to a PR, but it's my fastest 5k since 2008. I think with a few more months of consistent training I can be within striking distance of some PRs by the fall.
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