I only signed up yesterday. The packet pickup was easy, and the goodies were great. I got 2 shirts! One for the Royals and one for the race. I had a couple good days of training and I really just wanted to knock one of the goals off my list. If I could knock the 5k off my goals list, that makes one less type of race I need to do this season. My wife will definitely appreciate it when I stop adding races to the calendar.
No real story here though. I woke up. Had a 5-hour energy and a V8 Fusion for breakfast. Drove 30 minutes to the race, which is usually enough time for the caffeine to kick in. Parked in the wrong spot, but the volunteers were great and got me to the starting line.
I could tell it was a new race. But I recognized many of the faces, including the announcer. That really helps me feel comfortable for some reason. All the charities appeared to be represented, so I felt like my race fees were actually going to get used properly too.
I started out fast. There was another runner that appeared to be going my pace, so I followed her lead, assuming that she was a better runner. I kept up with her until mile 2, then slowly fell back to about 150 yards behind. I finished (unofficially) at 26:17, which was way ahead of my goal. It was also over 3 minutes better than the Turkey Day 5k, my previous PR, that I did 8 months ago.
I don’t remember anything about the race. I had my watch set to show my average pace, so I knew the entire race that I was going to beat my goal. I didn’t push any harder than I had too, even though I could have probably broke 26 minutes.
I crossed the finish line and felt pretty good. I didn’t lollygag at all. I got my chip cut off, grabbed a water, a banana, and a smoothie and left.
It took a minute for the PR to really hit me. I remembered how excited I was to break 30 minutes less than a year ago. I wasn’t as excited today though. I think its because I realize that this is just the first step this season. I have a long way to go, and a lot more opportunity to improve.
Branson 70.3 is just over 3 months away.
