This weekend, J and I headed to Western Kentucky for a quick visit with J's folks and, lucky for me, a good visit with my BFF Suz, who, as luck would have it, married a farmer just minutes from my in-laws. I had a great time visiting local antinque shops and the local winery (Ruby Moon Winery) with the girls!
Today, we left Webster County around noon for Owensboro, where we were registered to participate in the Turkey Day 5-miler. That's right, five miles. Now, I'm sure you're asking yourself how and why we ended up registered for a race much longer than any we've completed in a town so far from home. Well, we're trying to hit a race once a month, and as hard as I looked for one in New York (our Thanksgiving destination this year), I couldn't find one. So, in an effort to find a race in November, we ended up signing up for this race.
Well, J woke up sick this morning. I know, pretty good excuse. I'd have given him a hard time about his timing, too, except that he really does seem kind of sick. I gave him three choices: drive home and forget about the race, drive to Owensboro and hang out being sickly while I ran, or stay at his dad's while I drove to Owensboro and ran the race then came back to retrieve him. J picked option number two, and curled up for a nap while I braved the crowds--seriously, this race has never had more than a hundred or so runners, and today they had a record 250-300.
Lessons Learned:
1. People who show up for 5 mile races are in way better shape than those who show up for 3 milers (your standard 5K).
2. 5 milers are for runners, not walkers (see Lesson 1). Only half a dozen of us started out the race walking (the warm-up portion for me), and we were quickly left behind by the pack.
3. Drinking water out of a styrofoam cup while running is NOT an easy task. 3b. Drinking water while running makes me a little queasy and probably isn't necessary if I'm well hydrated before the race.
4. Putting Jonathon in charge of my ipod playlist is a great idea.
5. If I feel good at one mile, I've definitely got four more in me, and might have five. Bluegrass 10,000, anyone?
6. Knowing I wasn't coming in last helps a lot (three whole people behind me; again, see Lesson 1), but realizing that finishing last is better than not finishing at all is an even better feeling.
Despite the illness, my fabulous husband managed to find my camera in my purse and was at the homestretch ready to capture my accomplishment. Here are a couple of pictures. For those following along at home, the finish time on the clock is not quite accurate, as we used timing chips and I crossed the starting line probably 30 seconds back from the official time. That means my mile splits averaged about 14.5 minutes per mile, which is roughly how I did at the Black Cat Chase. I was really surprised to maintain a similar pace over 5 miles that I do over 3 miles, and hope that bodes well for me in the future. Also, I used the same interval approach that my brother recommended, and it's still working for me, so I'm pleased about that, too.
Title: "20,000 Seconds", by K's Choice (the first song on the playlist J made for my race today)
1 comment:
Awesome job!!!
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