5K Susan G Komen Race for the cure

3rd place in age group. 

I went into this race not knowing if I'd run. The weather report for days was not looking good for the day of the race. I'm okay with a little rain but lighting. No way and I'm sure the race would be called off at that point! Luck would have it, no rain, just cloudy and very humid for 8am.

We got to the race early, because when you don't pre-register you have to arrive before the cut off time. It's usually 45 minutes before the start of the race. I also like to look around, check out my competition and not feel like I'm rushing. 

We are all lined up.. can you see me? The woman in the pink with the sort blond hair took 1st place in my age group. She was speedy!

These short races are always really painful running. My lungs hurt and I just want to stop after mile 1.. I'll do a mile by mile recap!

The race course was pretty flat.. That old guy, #487 passed me around mile 2.. I met  the woman in the black hat while waiting for the race to begin. She was in my age group and fast. She placed 2nd..She was always at least 20 feet or more in front of me. 

I'm never sure where to line up for these races. I don't want to run a second more then I have to, so I don't ever line up back in the pack. I also don't want people running around me.. I was pretty much 3rd row behind a bunch of others.. By the time the race started. 

With a count down from 10.. we were off. I ran a fast 1st mile. I checked my Garmin and it was a 7:10 pace and then I started to slow down.. I was trying to keep that pace the entire 3 miles but I knew at mile 1 that was not going to happen. 

The crowd  thinned fairly fast. At mile 1, there was one guy telling us our mile times.. I kept thinking.. I'm dying already and I have 2 miles left to run.. 

Some where around 1.5 miles we hit a few rolling hills. So much for a completely flat course. I actually didn't mind the hills so much but that's when that 70 year old passed me.. Ugh! The rest of the run was a long blurrr... a never ending run that I wanted over. I kept thinking only 7 more minutes.. 1 mile.. that never helped me run faster. I didn't care where I finished I wanted the pain to be over. 

Steve thought the woman I was talking to, was me.. so I never got a finish line photo.. this will have to do. A finish line photo before the race.. Official time 25:34 @ 8:14 per mile pace. 

Best of all.. I placed 3rd!

1) I really need to work on hydration! 2) Fast practice miles..