5K Weekend

“There are over 1 billion people in China that have no idea who you are or care about how you run” 
– NCAA / USATF coach Tom Anzack (used to put a poor performance in perspective)

I came across the following quote which instantly put my feelings of late in perspective. I haven't been running as well as I'd like lately (hip pain again - massage today with a new lady. Fingers crossed it helps), and I have been letting it get to me. Last week I took several days off from running, and to be honest, with back to back 5k's looming over me for the weekend, I just wasn't excited about running them and thought several times about backing out.

 Luckily I came across the words above which made me realize, you know what, just go run, do my best and enjoy the gift of running. Who cares how fast I run or how I place. It doesn't matter to anyone but me, and it shouldn't even matter to me. I am constantly having to remind myself not to let running define me.

5k #1: First up was the Petco 5k at Walter E Long Park in Austin. I signed up for this race as part of a Living Social Deal and it ended up being a steal! For $17, we got a nice shirt, chip timed race & bag full of pet goodies. I also took home a free pair of Newtons, new head phones and a coffee cup for first female (note: I was actually 2nd female, but the lady who won was running with a dog and they gave separate awards for those running with a dog vs. those running without).

Yes, I got beat my someone running with their dog (and also the 7 yr old boy behind her). In my defense, she's a professional triathlete. And, if I looked like her, maybe I would run faster (note to self: lay off the pizza)

Anyway, this race was mostly off-road on grass/cedar chips. It's actually the run course of several local triathlons so I have run it several times. However, I have never run it when it's been MUDDY. After a large amount of rain the night before, this was a mud fest. Add in hills and ankle deep puddles, and it made for a challenging race.

Race start. Those without dogs started first, followed by those running with dogs a minute later. I'm in the blue.

Muddy finish

My friend Rain & I

The coolest dog I saw! I wanted to take him home with me! And yes I asked someone if I could take a picture of their dog...

Results: 20:28. I was pretty happy with this time on this course.

5k #2: Next up was the ARC Daisy 5k in Austin. This was a two loop course out at the Austin State Supported Living Center. I woke up SORE from Saturday. I just don't recover like I used too. It's very depressing. I warmed up a solid 30 minutes on Sunday trying to loosen up my legs and again decided to race sans Garmin so I wouldn't get caught up in my splits. The course was hillier than I expected but fair. Saw lots of familiar faces, including a local Georgetown runner, Felix, who I knew would be a good person to pace off of.

Results: 19:57, 2nd female. My goal for this race was to come in under 20 min and I barely squeaked in under 20. I was a little disappointed in my race. The women's race was really tight 6 deep through the first loop and continued to be tight 4 deep for the final half. I was leading through the first loop, but got passed about 2.5 miles in. The girl was won ran a smarter race than I and deserved the win.

I struggle with not starting out too fast in 5k's because they are so short I feel it's really hard to make up time if you start out too conservatively. Two other women (not the overall winner) went out what felt to be really fast out of the gate, so I surged with them. I was able to drop them some by the first loop but really started to struggle on the second loop and could feel myself slowing down. I tried to hang on and stay with the overall female winner, but couldn't hang on. I was really hoping to run closer to 19:35-19:40, but that was all my legs had yesterday. I was able to stay within 5 seconds of Felix so I was happy in that regard and we usually finish pretty close to each other.

 Despite being a little disappointed in my time, things quickly started looking out when we found out Olympic Decathlete TREY HARDY was presenting the awards. I ended up winning a nice $45 gift card but was more excited to have my picture taken with him...haha!

Would have preferred a shower and some make up before a photo op but oh well...

Anyway, I'm glad I raced and, as always, doing so helps to bring some of my running mojo back.

Next up: Pflugerville 5k Phun Run on Sunday. It's my last race before I turn 35 (HOW IS THIS HAPPENING!!) and age up to the next age group. :(

Anyone else race this weekend? Hope it went well!!