Run for Justice 5k

There I am before the start of the Run for Justice 5k. It was a cold morning. Temps in the low 40s! BRRR! I wore my puffy vest right until it was time to head to the start line. I also had on tights underneath my shorts. I also opted for a long sleeve shirt under my short sleeve shirt which I later regretted during the race because I got hot! David and I got there early and had plenty of time to grab my bib and check out the scene. It was a smaller neighborhood race, but a lot of lawyers came out. Many of the big firms had "firm shirts" and ran as a group. I saw some girls from Women in Law, but decided to run on my own.

Soon it was time for the race to start. I said goodbye to David and followed the crowd to the start line. I was very close to the front of the start with the "real runners." I was scared to be this close, but then I thought about all the times I've stayed back at the start line and wished I had been closer instead. I hate bobbing and weaving at the beginning of the race. I positioned myself perfectly for this race and I took off fast. Here I am right after the start. There weren't many people around me at this point as we broke away from the pack early.
I felt good here, but knew that my pace was pretty fast for the first mile. I hesitated to look at my garmin until I had set a comfortable pace. About .7 miles in I noticed that I was on track for an 8:15 mile which is pretty good for me. I was thinking that it would be more like 8:30. Anyhow, I was feeling good, so I kept pushing on with the same amount of effort. About 1 mile into the race an older guy (probably in his 60s) started running right next to me. Usually I would be annoyed by this. I don't particularly enjoy running right next to strangers, but I could feel that this was different. We were running the same pace and really motivating each other. At first I thought that he was just going to run next to me for a few seconds, but that turned into minutes and then miles. He was awesome. We running with almost the exact same stride and although we weren't talking to each other I could feel that we were pushing each other. I knew I was going fast and that it was possible I would PR, but I just tried to focus on one step at a time.

We had about half a mile left and I was starting to hurt. The cold air was burning my lungs and I knew I was really going to have to push it to keep this pace to the end of the race. Thank goodness for my new running buddy. We were really pushing each other to run as hard as we could. Also, my garmin kept me going. I constantly checked it as we got closer to 3.1. Before I knew it we were only about .2 away and my new running buddy started to pick up the pace. I was spent and had almost nothing left, so I couldn't keep up with him, but I didn't let him get too far ahead. He was about 15 feet ahead of me and then I saw the finish line. It gave me a burst of energy - especially when I looked at my garmin - 25 mins! I knew this was near PR time. I saw David getting ready to take a pic, but I couldn't bear to smile. I was in some serious pain as I flared me arms back and forth and tried to get to that finish line as quick as I could.
I turned around and saw a girl about 10 feet behind. I was determined not to get passed. At 25:10 I was crossing the finish line. I checked my garmin - A PR!!!!
I couldn't breathe as I grasped for a pencil to fill out my finishing time card.
When I went to turn in my finishing time card I realized only a few people were ahead of me in my age group. I tried to count them (the official was getting annoyed with me so I stopped), but I think there were only three or four other women in my age group in front of me!! Are you kidding me? Top 5 in my age group? I was so pumped. David said that only 12 women total finished in front of me. AWESOME. That felt good. And even better, it was unexpected. I definitely didn't think that was going to be one of my fastest races. Granted, it was a smaller race, but I was still so excited. What a great feeling!! Here I am after the race. It took me awhile to catch my breath - my lungs were burning from the cold weather, but I managed a smile and a thumbs up...
Great way to spend my Saturday morning :)