5k For The Holiday

Today was my second 5k since I started running. It was the Run 5k For The Holiday, and benefited the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. It is run on a very nice course that starts at a park in Burlington and loops around back to the park. Pretty flat with some hill, but not much.

I was very nervous when I arrived, for a few reasons. First, I had gotten sick around 3 in the morning and was hoping that it would not effect my run. Second, I was by myself. When I ran my first 5k I did not know anyone, but my brother was with me. I did not know anyone today either and I was by myself. Finally, my calf was hurting a little bit. Not a sharp pain but a tightness, and I was afraid it would get worse and slow me down during the run. It took a while to feel better, but I was okay after my warm ups and stretching.

I had a couple goals in mind for this 5k. First I wanted to run the entire thing without stopping. It sounds simple enough, but I have never ran 5k without a few walk breaks.

My next goal was to break 33 minutes... I know it is slow, but my pace is usually over 11 minutes per mile, except for short runs which are around 10:30 to 10:45 a mile. Breaking 33 minutes would also be a better time than my first 5k and therefore be a PR.

I started near the back of the pack, as I did in my first 5k, and planned to start slow enough that I would not wear myself out. Since I have my awesome new Garmin Forerunner 305 I was able to keep an eye on my pace and go exactly as planned.

The run felt great from the beginning. Believe it or not I passed more people than passed me. I was feeling excited, but calm. I was keeping my pace a little faster than 11:00 and feeling good. I continued to pass people and did not once feel like walking.

As I got close to the end I almost slowed for a walk break because I was forming a cramp in my side. I think I may have taken a drink of water too fast. As I started to slow, I told myself not to and kept going. I could see the finish now!

I turned the corner for the final straightaway to the finish line and tried to push it harder. I could only pick up the pace a little bit because I was getting worn down. I did finish strong and did not walk the entire thing!

Official results are not posted yet, but my Garmin time is 32:12 with these splits...
Mile 1 - 10:37 (10:37 pace)
Mile 2 - 20:44 (10:08 pace)
Mile 3 - 31:02 (10:18 pace)
Mile 3.1 - 32:12 (9:00 pace)

According to my Garmin (I love this thing by the way) My best pace was 8:15, but I am sure that I only held this for a short time... It was probably while I was passing someone since I usually speed up when I come around them. It also said I had a HR of 122 bpm in my last split... which is funny since I was not wearing a HR monitor. It must have picked up some one's monitor when I was coming through the finish.

When I was leaving I stopped to talk to one of the other runners. We talked about how we got into running and how much fun it is... I truly love running and every time I have a run like this it just makes me love it more.