Impromptu 5K

Instead of the interval run scheduled for Saturday, I decided to run a 5K race! Well, sort of. It was a beautiful day on Saturday, sunny and high in the low 60's. We had found a race on the campus of UNCG and said we would do it if the weather was nice. It was at 12pm which was great - much better than a 9am start time. The BeerRun is in the same area so I thought it would give me a little preview of that race. It was a small 5K with only 40 people in the race. Michael (who is super fast) thought he may have a chance to finish in the top 3 or maybe even win. I didn't have a specific goal but at least I thought I would run around the same time my 3 mile runs have been. Maybe a little better since it was a race and you usually run faster.

We only have the one Garmin watch that we share and this was the first race we both were doing since we got the Garmin. I let Michael wear it since he was focused on winning the race. I definitely missed it! The course was not marked at each mile so I didn't have any clue how I was doing on my time. I just thought I should finish around 30 minutes, more or less. Around 23 or 24 minutes I saw Michael coming toward me. I told him I didn't know where Ryan was. He had falling behind me and I didn't see him. Ryan decided to run the 5K even though he hasn't ran that far since the Gobbler Race on Thanksgiving. I was a little worried about him running but he was determined to do it. Anyways Michael said the end was just around the corner which wasn't that far. WHAT?!? That can't be right. If that was the case I was going to finish under 30 minutes, well under. Once I turned the corner I saw the finish line. I looked at my watch, 25 minutes. In my mind I was thinking, I can't believe this. I am going to reach my goal of running a 5K race in 27 minutes already. My first race of 2012 and I was going to meet my goal. As I approached the finish line I could feel someone right behind me and a little competition set in. This person was not going to pass me at the finish line no way. So I picked up the pace and crossed the finish line without getting passed. ;)

The Greensboro Running Club was timing the race so some of the members that I know where there. They were congratulating me on a great finish time. Again I said, that can't be right. I've been running 3 miles around 30 minutes. One of the ladies said Michael finished in 2nd place and by only 2 seconds! Oh no. I remembered I didn't ask him when he passed me because I just assumed he won. I walked down to find him and Ryan and finally saw them. Ryan had to walk some because he got a cramp but he finished. I told Michael my finish time which was 26:34 and then he said it wasn't the full 3.12 miles. It was only 2.7 miles. Well that explains my great finish time. BUMMER! I knew it was too good to be true. That's why I "sort of" ran a 5K. I really wished it would have been the actual distance. Now I feel like this race doesn't count.

It was still a good time. There was plenty of food after the race. More than any race I have ever been too. I felt so bad that Michael came so close to winning a race. He still did an awesome job regardless. Since he had the Garmin, he thought there was still 1/2 mile left and then the guy that won started sprinting when he saw the finish line. I heard it was an entertaining finish although I didn't get to see it. I do know that I would like to get another Garmin watch. I'm sure we won't find a great deal like we did on that one (only 50 bucks!). But I think I will start looking for another used one. Even though it wasn't actual 5K distance, my pace ended up being 9:50. That's still an improvement!

Today the weather outside was much different than yesterday. It was cold and rainy all morning and afternoon. Then we started getting some sleet and now snow! Yes, it is actually snowing in NC! This winter has been so mild I was beginning to think we might not see any snow. So with the forecast in mind, I decided to run my long run on Monday and went to the Y today for a spin class. This spin class was interesting. It was a male instructor and so far all my instructors have been female. He didn't do climbs like in my other classes. His class was more focused on speed and it was faster than I could keep up. He was also an interesting character - he had a variety of stories (not exercise related) and cussed a lot. I didn't really care for him that much but it was still a good workout.

Even though it's snowing today, the rest of the week is supposed to be warmer so hopefully I can run outside. I'm onto week 8 of training and less than a month away from the BeerRun!