Thanks everyone for the words of encouragement!!
This morning I ran the Hoya and the Hare 5k in Kennesaw, GA. The event is special to me because it was the first race I ever signed up for back in 2006. I run it each year now as both a gauge of my ability and a reminder of where I was with my health two years ago.
This year’s goal was to break the 24 minute mark or at least establish a new 5k PR. My best coming in to the race was 24:32 last May.
The weather was a little on the chilly side, with the temps hovering around 42 degrees and forcing me to run in pants and long sleeves…but I’ll take that any day over excessive heat! I found a spot up near the start line, waited for the gun and then took off at what I thought was an aggressive, but not taxing pace. The course has one big dip in it and a couple of smaller grade hills, but overall isn’t too bad. I did notice that my constant hill training through the week in my neighborhood really pays off as I seemed to easily attack the hills, passing some folks each time.
I logged mile 1 in 7:32. It was exactly where I wanted to be. I knew if I wanted to meet my goal, I’d have to eliminate walking any during the entire 3.1 miles, so I shrugged off the urge to take a breather and pressed on. It seemed like mile 2 went by quickly and I clocked it in at 7:46, still ahead of schedule. I knew at this point I was home free so I just maintained my pacing and rounded out the third mile in another 7:46. Tack on a nice 40 second .1 mile sprint to the finish and I crossed the line in 23:46…establishing a new PR and eclipsing my goal for the day!!
Not only am I proud of my time, but I’m stoked that I ran the entire race without walking. Normally when I pick up the pace like that, I rely on walk breaks once per mile…not having to take the breaks was a big confidence booster for me.
So, I’m sorry to ramble on but it was a great event for me today and a race that I’m proud of. I’m looking forward to next Sunday’s half marathon, but I’m super excited that Minnie Weekend is right around the corner so that I can get back onto a course with
Amy….I miss you buddy
Thanks for reading along and I hope everyone has a great day!
Hey
Kate – how’d it go across the pond???
GO WISH TEAM! 
:
Good luck tomorrow K8! 
There were a couple of giant hills but mostly gentle gradients. We actually started just before the bridge which they'd closed and it was cool seeing all the traffic stopped just for us. 
What's your goal for next year? 
