My time goal, as usual, was to finish this 5k in under 20 minutes. I have been chasing this goal ever since I started running 7 years ago. I ran 3.1 miles in 19:56 during a pace run about 4 1/2 years ago, but I don't think that time counts since it wasn't in a race! I got very close to my goal last month, and I was confident that it was in the bag for today's race. Ha!
I didn't sleep very well last night, and when I woke up this morning I had that weird, shaky, nauseous feeling that I get when I don't get enough sleep. Before the race started, I did a short warmup and for some reason my legs were just really tired and heavy. I was jogging at a slow pace, but it felt like way too much effort for that pace. I tried a few strides to loosen my legs, but that didn't help at all.
The race started, and I went out at 6:25 pace and managed to sustain that for the first mile. I wasn't actually feeling too bad at that point. But as I got halfway into mile 2, my legs started to get SO tired. Running at 6:30ish pace felt like a sprint and I just could not do it anymore. I gave up and walked for a little bit before trying to run again. I managed to stay under 7:30 pace. In mile 3, I stopped at a water stop to dump a cup of water on my head. That helped cool me off, and I was able to run at close to 7:00 pace for the rest of that mile.
Finished as the first woman in 21:51. It was one of my worst races, but a good learning experience. It's normal to have an "off" day. And I still believe that I will someday run a sub 20 5k!!! :-)
And the most fun part of the morning? Exploring the park with my sister, Oliver, and Buttercup! Although eating ice cold watermelon at the race finish was pretty nice, too. :-)
Still wicked fast. Congrats on 1st! :-) You'll break 20 soon I'm sure. Too bad you can't come run Shawsville on July 4th. That's where my friend Steve broke 20 the first time, after chasing it several seasons, and he swears by that race.
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