4th of July 5-miler

This morning I ran the 35th Annual 4th of July 5-miler.  The race is an unofficial, free, 5 mile course right through my neighborhood.  How could I not do it?

I walked down to the park with my cheering squad (Aaron, Jill, Cash and Lucy)

I have to say, I was super impressed with this run.  The course was really well marked and staffed with people to tell you where to turn and a water station at the half way mark. There were even bananas and cookies at the finish.

My running buddy wishing me luck before the run:

I didn’t have any real expectations for this run – I just wanted to finish in under 50 minutes for a sub 10-minute per mile pace.  I was actually really sore from yoga yesterday, especially in my abs, hips and shoulders.  My optimistic goal was to finish in 45 minutes for a 9 minute per mile pace.

As the race started I felt really good. I love the way running a race makes me feel. I haven’t done a race for awhile, and the difference between running through my neighborhood alone and in a race was significant. When I hit the 1 mile marker at exactly 9 minutes, I knew I wanted to really push for that 45 minute finish.

It was hard – but I did it! I stepped across the finish line at 44:57!! I haven’t ran that far that fast in a LONG time. Splits (approximate):

Mile 1: 9:00
Mile 2: 8:50
Mile 3: 9:10
Mile 4: 9:20
Mile 5: 8:37

It felt so great to finish strong! But, right when I finished I felt the lactic acid building up and I started hurting! Oh well – if it was easy, everyone would do it!

I walked home about 1/2 mile to collect my prize:

Homemade waffles with butter, powdered sugar and strawberries, bacon and eggs. And a mimosa that Aaron delivered to me while I was in the shower.  It doesn’t get much better than that!

Happy Birthday America! I am off to celebrate with family and friends, BBQ and watch fireworks!

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