Round Up Days 5K...I kicked your 15 year old butt

I didn't want to combine my last post with a running post. I thought about it, but how do I skillfully merge my cousin's funeral with the 5K race? They both happened on the same day and both were memorable. Here's a recap of the race.

It all started 1 year ago at the last Round Up Days 5K. I was a relative newby at the race scene. I didn't have a whole lot of running gear. I owned a couple pair of running shorts and some pseudo running shirts, but not much else. I remember waking up late and driving down to the race while munching on a Clif bar and drinking a bottle of water. It was not a stellar race. On top of that, the neighbor kid was running also and he totally kicked my butt the last 1/4 mile of the race. This is important because I have stewed on this fact for a solid year.

This year, I had two goals in mind. 1. Beat the neighbor kid and 2. Beat my 5K PR that I set last September

The new twist this year is that many of my family decided to run/walk the race also. I didn't have to worry about waking up late this year because I set the alarm for 6:00 am and was ready to take on this race.

500+ people started the race at the community center and it wound around the local area. I started the race focused on my two main goals and found myself running way too fast for my own good. The combination of Adrenaline and focus resulted in me feeling pretty haggard by the first mile. I'm amazed that I can run a half marathon and thoroughly enjoy the race, yet in a 5K my head is screaming as if we had just been attacked by aliens and I was the one to warn the world.

By mile 2 I was ready for this race to be over and done with. I went against my principles and took a drink at the 1 1/2 mile mark. I felt worse than I had to start with. I was sufficiently hydrated going into this race I was just looking for something to dull the ache in my chest and shoulder. instead, I found myself coughing for a 1/4 mile and wondering if I could throw up and run at the same time. I decided this wouldn't be a wise choice so I put it out of my mind.

I also noticed that there was a guy running the opposite direction and he had a race bib on. I thought maybe he was one of those idiot fast runners who finish the race and the come back to run with a friend and rub it in that he was done. I realized that he was going the opposite direction because the course looped back on itself. I think this was worse than knowing that this race would never end.

I focused on putting one foot in front of the other and suddenly the thought came to my mind "I wonder what I'll have for breakfast when this is over?" Seriously? I'm running my guts out and I can only think of breakfast? I'm not focused on my breathing or pacing or relaxing the shoulders...no...I'm thinking about waffles.

The home stretch came up and all my focus went to making the final push and finishing strong. I finished the race and had no idea what my time was until my son came up and congratulated me on beating my PR time. What? I beat my PR? I though at mile 2 I was finished. My efforts paid off and I beat my PR by a good 1:58 seconds.

The post race food was a better spread than the 10K that I ran earlier. Alas, the only people to get prizes were the first place finishers overall and in the age divisions. I took third. As for my two main goals going into the race, here are the results.

PR the race-went from a 24:00 minute PR in the fall of '08 to a 22:02 PR
Beat the kid in the neighborhood. He never showed up, but I know I would have kicked his 15-year-old butt.