Wild Turkey Trot 5k

Ran my best 5k today! My previous best was 29:19 on a 3.04 mile course. Today I ran 29:14 on a 3.13 mile course! I am really pleased! I was hoping to be in the 28 minute, but I got stuck a little at the beginning. Too many slower runners in front of me and I was not as close to the front as I should have been. But that's OK. At least they held the walkers for two minutes. It makes me mad to have to dodge walkers who put themselves at the front of the pack.

Many thanks to Chris G and his wife Jackie. I met Chris on Daily Mile. He and Jackie didn't run today; they came out to be my cheering section! How awesome! Chris took some pictures and said he'd email them to me when he got home. I hope I don't look too exhausted in them.

My splits were: 9:23, 9:21, 9:28, 1:03 (7:54 pace for 0.13mi!). Average pace was 9:20! That's not bad at all! It's awesome! I felt good about the run the whole time. My back hurt, but I ignored it. I just focused on the people I wanted to pass.

I am delighted to see the effect of my training. Sometimes I feel discouraged because I am running between a ten and an eleven minute mile. Sometimes even slower. I tell myself that I am focused on endurance now, not speed, but I can't help wonder if I'll get faster. Today showed me that I am faster -- in a race environment. So now I understand race pace and training pace. I think I could do a 10k in under an hour now. I may just squeak it out, but I think I can break that barrier.

I see the finish line and the clock!

Yeah, baby!