Turtles Can Run

I’ve been really excited about running this race.  Last year I ran it and it was the first 5K race I had ever done.  My goal last year was not to be the last runner in and to come in under 30 minutes.  Now that I’ve done a few races I realize I never have to worry about being the last one in, unless I trip, fall or have a heart attack on the course.  I met both of my goals last year, I finished the race in 28 minutes and 49 seconds. I was hooked on races after that, I had such a great time.  It was also the first time the kids did a kids run and they loved it as well.  Such a great way to spend a Saturday or Sunday morning.

This year I had two goals and one hope .  Set a personal best, 23:30 or better for time, and I hoped that I could come in the top 3 for my age group.  Somehow I managed to do all three.  My previous personal record for a 5K was 24:56.  Today’s official time 23:22 ( twitter friends I know I said 23:13 earlier, that was the first result  they posted but the official results said 23:22 so we are going to go with that time ) When I came in to the finish I knew I had met the first two goals but the question was: what was my age group ran? Turns out I was ranked third in my age group and I even got a little medal to prove it.  Yay!!  And guess what,  there were 27 other women in my age group, I thought the only way I would ever rank in the top three was if there were only three to begin with .

Very briefly, this is how the run went. My original plan was to run negative splits.  Unfortunately,  I went out a little faster than I intended so negative splits  did not happen.  Each mile was about 10 seconds slower than the one before. But I did manage to save enough energy to really kick it at the end and I  finished strong.

There were lots of activities going on for the kids as well as a kids K .  So we all had a lot of fun and I left feeling confident.  Running this little race has me really excited about the 5 miler I have coming up in a couple of weeks and the marathon. It also showed me that I am getting fitter and faster. Feels great!!

My results:

Filed under: Races, Running Blog