Coogan's Salsa and Blues Festival 5k

This weekend I ran twice (I haven't done that in a loooooong time). Saturday morning I added on mileage all the way up to 6 :) I can't say that the run went very well. There was a lot of stopping and walking and starting again. I started out at a 7:51 pace and ended with an average 10:18 pace...so you can kind of see what I mean. :(

I guess, this was kind of good though, because it set up my expectations for my first race of the year. I knew not to take it out too fast, at least.

Sunday was also fun because all of my friends were running this race as well...AND it was my birthday! I think all in all there were 10 of us, and for 2 of them it was their race debut! We all basically ran in pairs, which was helpful because everyone had some moral support. I was so glad that Bill ran with me, because that way I didn't beat myself up for my newly-found slower pace.

Here is a (long)video of the race. I actually found myself in the crowd at 1:45. (I'm probably like the only one in a tank top.)

I decided to shoot for 9:30s for each mile...especially since I had heard the course was hilly.

And it WAS hilly...but it was okay too, because it was a beautiful course, and a beautiful, warm day (like the first real day of spring!) and about every 200 feet there was a band playing. I told Bill that if they had that much entertainment during a marathon, that would be the best marathon ever. But that would also mean there had to be like 400 bands. (Actually, I just checked it out and it would be 691 bands).

Our first mile was a 9:22, which made me happy. I felt pretty good, but knew I couldn't push it a ton more. I was really happy that I stayed on pace and didn't push it too much.

Since I did feel so good, I picked it up a smidge (but only as much as I felt comfortable). I definitely felt like I was pushing, but not over-the-top. I did feel a lot slower on the hills. The next mile was a 9:10.

The third mile I felt like I had more energy and could really pick up my stride a bit. I was pushing, but I could still talk to Bill fairly easily. Luckily, he was encouraging me the whole way up the hill. I was watching my heartrate rise rise rise on the monitor as I went up, and go down down down as I went down the hill. That last mile was an 8:15!!! And with all the energy I had left, I really kicked it in for the finish.

I felt GREAT! (It was also funny to see my HR at the end of the race at 173, plunge back down to 89 in a matter of seconds). I was very happy with myself because I knew I did the absolute best I could. My finishing time was 28:10.

It was also really fun to run a race and not worry so much about the time. I think last year I would have beat myself up if I got anything more than an 8:00 pace. Especially since 8:03 was my best 10k pace from last year and I was hitting 7:30s-7:40s in practices for 4-5 miles. But really, this was so much more fun and relaxing. I was happy with myself for setting a reasonable goal and attaining it.

I was also very proud of my non-running friends. The both finished a tough course with lots of hills in their first event ever!

I would have to say that it was a great birthday run!