My Five Miler Race

Today was my five miler race. My goal today (besides my training goal of hitting 8:15 min/mile) was to beat my previous time, which was 41:33. I actually felt okay prior to starting the race(most of the times I'm a bundle of nervous who feels nauseous). As I lined up to start, I did my race day ritual of starting behind the pack, and when I finally got to cross the start line, I shot off.

The beginning of races are so exhilarating to me, and probably stupid strategy-wise. Instead of starting near the front of the pack where I don't have too many people in front of me, I choose to start at the back. I don't know why, because I zigzag through the crowd just trying to get up near the front. I constantly get stopped, blocked, and hit with elbows. I know this is my own fault, but I guess this has just become a part of my race day routine.

As I get to mile 1, I feel fantastic. The clock time says 8:20, but I know I started almost a minute after the clock started. As I passed the clock, I kept telling myself to keep pace, trying hard to lose myself with my iPod and mindless thoughts. 

At mile 3, it started pouring rain. It sucked. I was so thirsty before I even started the race, so the rain actually felt good to me. For your information, I'm very bad at being hydrated. Very. Bad. I tried to avoid the puddles, and just kept trying to maintain my pace. This is the point where my iPod died. 

Once my iPod died, I thought to myself "crap! What am I going to do now?" I think we have become so dependant on training with music that we feel lost without it. Luckily, for triathlons we're not  able to use headphones, so I've learned how to not become self-dependent on those musical gadgets. I took my headphones off and kept trying to avoid giant puddles. 

Once we start approaching mile 5, I feel myself speed up. The energy that you get from the people cheering you on to finish is crazy. I know it sounds crazy, but it's so true. As I look at the clock, I know I've already beat my time. I do a mini happy dance, and go to meet up with friends. 

After the race, I checked my official time. It was 38:46. Not too shabby! I placed third overall which got me this lovely prize: 

                                   

I actually love this thing, and it is so much more practical that the medal. I'm not too sure where I want to keep it, but I know it should stay.

So there you have it!! I made it :) I completed both my goals and am a super happy camper.

Side note for anyone who likes to follow my training plans and advice: I personally don't eat before a shorter run. Rarely I'll have a banana,  and this is only under extreme circumstances. Also, I've found that my sprint training has gotten me to the point where this fast pace is comfortable. 

Just a few days after posting about my disappointing run, I'm blessed to get this race to shine in. Tomorrow I rest, and I couldn't be happier!!!