April Fools Day 5K - My Third Race

My 5K race times are getting better and better. Today I ran the Hilliard April Fools Day 5K race and I WON!! Ok, that was a cheap shot at an April Fools joke, but c'mon...

Seriously though, my goal today was to break the 25 minute mark. This would shatter my last race time (and personal record) but would require about an 8 minute mile pace (or less). I've never tested myself with these times before... When I run, I average a 9:20 pace, so 3 consecutive 8:00 miles is really pushing it for me. I know I'm getting faster, but today was the day to prove just how fast I really could go...

Tyler (my best bud) came with me for moral support and it helped immensely. I started the race very smoothly. Last race I darted out in front of lots of people and it drained me way to fast. I know that my first mile (last race) was around a 7:00 mile, but like I stated before, they didn't have the mile markers placed yet. Anyway, this time I just kept a fast (yet comfortable) pace the whole mile. My first mile was 7:38! I know I could have gone faster, so that was good to know when I clocked it (mental note). Up to this point, I was about the 5th place and there was a huge group of runners right behind me. I backed off a bit and let some of them pass me. My second mile was 8:02 and I was slowly fading into a stooper by this point... At about the 2.5 mile marker, I just about switched to an all out jog, but changed my focus to my hard pumping music instead and kept pushing my legs. The third mile was a nasty 8:24 and I knew that if I was going to beat the 25 minute mark, I was going to have to dig really hard for this last 1/10th of a mile. The final stretch (aka: last 1/10th) was a stellar 44 seconds (that's a 7:20 pace!).

My total time today was 24:51!! My watch actually showed 24:49, but the results were posted on the site with an additional 2 seconds. Oh well... The most awesomest(?) news I beat my personal record and met my 24 minute goal. It was a bonus that I got 1st place in my age group and 24th overall. Tyler was able to capture the moment that I crossed the finish line above... Thanks Ty!! :)

So to conclude my last couple of races...

1. Arnold 5K - 26:25
2. Shamrock Shuffle - 25:49
3. April Fools - 24:51 (a full minute faster... read above if you're confused on the math)

My goal is to continue to get faster each race and beat the last race. I have another race in 2 weeks. I plan to do a lot of endurance training for this one because I know this was was really hard for me. I was really beat after today's race. I know I can do better and I will, but it is going to take some physical and mental training. Like I said, there were a couple of times today that I really thought about switching to a "jog" to give into the nasty pain in my side, but I'm glad I didn't. The end result of seeing that 24 on the beginning of my time was worth it. I've been on top of the world all day.

...the Columbus Half-Marathon is in October, which is a lot closer than I think.