Provo City 5K today. I kind of jumped in on this race at the last second after realizing I was recovering really well from Boston and deciding I might as well just go for it. I did two mini workouts in prepration and other than that I was just banking on the fitness I had built while training for Boston. I made it quite clear that I wanted one thing and one thing only out of this race....SUB-20!!
Parked at the finish and jogged up to the start. Today is my brother Trevor who passed away in 2009 24th Birthday so I was kind of emotional jogging up. I started running about 8 months after he passed away because I was having such a difficult time dealing with his death. Running turned into my coping mechanism and I never expected to be good at it but here I was going for sub-20 on his Birthday! I was excited. Met up with Jake, Andrea, Kevin, and Merri at the start. Jake and Andrea were doing a bunch of drills...what the heck teach me guys? I acted like I knew what I was doing and probably looked like a complete idiot. ha!
Mile 1: There were about 50 people that sprinted out in front of me. I felt like I was dying the first quarter of a mile (see why I need to learn to do strides) and the fast pace was a complete shock to my system. I stayed with Merri almost the entire mile. It felt a little too fast but it was so nice to run with someone. 6:09
Mile 2: Slowed it down knowing that I was a complete idiot for running the first mile so fast. I felt freaking great! What the heck this is a 5k you aren't suppose to feel good? Oh well just keep trodding along. Passed Billy and Janae and they cheered and I wished them good luck. 6:22
Mile 3: It was starting to hurt a little but not too bad. Just kept weaving in and out of half marathoners. Ran into a kid from my HS running the 5k that started out way in front of me. Tried to stay with him and talk to him for a minute. 6:20
.12: Kind of suprised it was already over and definitely did not kick soon enough. I heard my parents screaming my name and picked it up into the finish. 6:06
Very excited that I hit my sub-20!! I know the course was slightly "aided" but common I don't think it was that aided. I am definitely mad at myself for not negative splitting but I still reached my goal and it is also a great indication that I have more potential. Honestly I have never felt that "good" running a 5k. Sure the last mile hurt a little but I felt really good overall. I still have lots of learning to do as far as running goes and I am excited to keep working hard and see what I am capable of.
Congrats to Jake and Andrea who completely swept the race and are just amazing people and runners. Seriously you guys make me want to keep working hard thanks for the motivation. Also congrats to Kevin who ran awesome taking 2nd and major congrats to Merri who ran 19:57 with hardly any training. I am so glad I talked her into running this with me!
I missed the awards ceremony because I went to run the last 7 miles of the marathon with my friend Julia. It was definitely a tough marathon course and we were all alone the entire time. It felt so weird after being used to the crowds in Boston. | 