The Little Things
October 26, 2015

This weekend I decided to run a 5k race… a mere 6 days after my hilly half marathon. It felt a little crazy, in light of the fact that the half was the hardest course I’ve run, but I had friends running the 5k, and wanted in on the fun!

I woke up at 6:30 on Saturday morning and got ready quickly before heading over to the start line. At least I had bright colors to wake me up:

Homecoming 5k Race

Seriously- how funny is that shirt? 🙂

My legs felt a bit heavy walking to packet pick-up, and I hoped my legs would loosen once the race started. This race is special to me: This was my very first race after I started running (back in 2011), and in 2013 I set my current 5k PR on it. This year, due to construction, they changed the course up a bit, and unfortunately that change added some “hills” (nothing like St. Louis!).

I threw on a podcast and hit start on my garmin as I crossed the starting line, and surprisingly I felt… good. At 0.3 of a mile I hit my first decline and people were slowly down as I took the hill with easy strides, and didn’t slow down on the opposite incline.

At mile 0.75 I saw someone from my Mexico Team who I haven’t seen since May, so I took a second to run over to her and give her a hug!

The rest of the race was a blur. I know that my legs felt tired and heavy every time I turned them over, and I remember making a conscious decision to try to not pay any attention to my legs at all. I tried to focus on my breathing and the podcast and enjoy the run.

At some point I looked down at my garmin and realized that I had a shot at running one of the fastest 5ks I’ve run recently, so I tried to pick it up a bit more and kick it at the end. Just like I said in my recap from St. Louis, practicing a strong finish all fall was definitely worth it, and I felt good coming in to the finish.

I crossed the finish line in 2:32:30, which is about 2 minutes slower than my 5k PR, BUT it’s the fastest 5k that I’ve run in a race in the past two years, so I can’t be mad about that at all… especially since I wasn’t recovered from St. Louis yet!

Homecoming 5k Race

These past two race weekends have honestly really surprised me. I’ve felt really strong while running, and have been able to enter a zone that I’ve only entered a few other times in my life. I love the feel of that zone, knowing that I’m 100% focused and present in the racing moment. I gave it everything that I had this weekend, with great results. I guess there’s something special about the Homecoming 5k 🙂

Homecoming 5k Race

Now it’s your turn to share! What’s one of your favorite parts about racing? What’s one lesson you’ve learned in running the last few months?

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