Didn't really know what to expect today. I think the last time I ran a 5k was about 5 years ago. I have never done a marathon "tune-up" 5k the week before a race, so I was a little nervous about doing something dumb and hurting myself. Fortunately everything is still in tact and feeling good.
Mile 1 went out fast, as expected. A really fast girl was there so it was good for me to have someone to pace off of for a bit. A SUPER fast guy was there who would have helped me PR in the 400m! (I didn't pace off of him.) We started about 100 meters behind the 1 Mile fun run so we had to do some weaving through traffic while manipulating a gravel-covered turn. All skin stayed gravel free! Fast Girl took off past me at about 0.5 miles so I just hung back because my garmin was telling me I was running 5:43. A pace I was sure I wouldn't sustain through the race. At about mile 1 I passed Fast Girl with a huge concern that it would come back to haunt me.
We made a hair-pin turn at about mile 1.1 and I looked up to only see hill. Oh boy, mile 2 was going to be fun. And it was...not very much fun. Luckily there were some guys in front of me that I could focus on as we trudged up the hill. I just focused on one at a time as I was able to get by them. Tried to squeeze out a "Nice Work!" but I'm sure all they heard were huge gasps of air. This mile greatly discouraged me because I could hardly hold a 6:30 pace and it was a lot of work. I kinda want to call the hill a mountain to make myself feel better!
Finally at about mile 2 the hill gave us some relief as we turned on to only a slight incline now. That lasted another 0.2 or so and then we got some flat ground. I regained my composure and settled back into a manageable pace, but still not the pace I was hoping for. One more turn and then we were home free to the finish. This downhill was nice, but not as steep as the uphill-go figure! I felt really controlled and comfortable so I probably should have pushed the pace a little, but I just don't know how to race a 5k! Came through the finish in 18:32, which is a PR as far as I know. Not quite what I was thinking, but I can't be upset about it.
Splits: 5:49, 6:30, 5:50 (for last 1.1). | 