Quick Report

Survived a chilly 5K! It was fun - relatively speaking. I really enjoyed the challenge. And I am happy with my results for what was really the first 5K I have ever raced. That distance is tough. Because you really just want to go all out from the gun -- but the reality is that 3 miles is still 3 miles. The last mile was pretty brutal. My stomach started turning and I wasn't able to finish very strong because of the nausea. That said, considering I have not been running with any real regularity - and definitely have not been training to run anything fast (not to mention I did a killer legs strength workout on Wednesday that I am still feeling the effects of!) - I am pleased. I wish I had had more in the tank to bring it home. But all things considered, it's a great place to start.

Here is the data from my watch:

You can click here for the official race results. (Which graciously give me back 2 seconds with a time of 25:23...I'll take it!) Here is a news article about the winners.

I should add that the first half had a slight downhill and a little bit of a tail wind. And, well, the second half was the opposite (it was out and back). So while I did die, it wasn't 100% because of my lack of fitness! ;)

I got 9th out of 109 people in my age group! It's not too often I am able to report that type of success. I am usually a pure, average, 50%, middle of the packer when it comes to the entire field, my gender, and my age group.

Did I mention it started blowing snow, seemingly out of nowhere, during mile 2? Gotta love Duluth in April.

My one disappointment is that I really wanted to push my max HR over 200! :) (For no reason other than I thought it would be cool.) I think I could have if my stomach hadn't given me so many problems in that final half mile. Alas. I'll take my 198. And my 188 average for the entire race. There was a time not so long ago when I definitely did not have the mental ability to push myself that hard. And while I won't likely be taking myself to the masochistic levels of pushing through pain that coach Wendy does - it's clear she's rubbed off on me at least a little bit.

Good times.