This was the same location as my very first race on April 16, the Genesis 5K. This was a really flat race, so my goal was to be under 30 minutes. I got really close in the Penn Hills Romp, and there was a hill there, so I was determined to do it this time, and actually run the entire way.
This race was really crowded. They had both a 10K and a 5K, and this time I was all by myself. So I was really disappointed when I realized that the 10K started at 8 and the 5K didn't start until 8:30. It made sense, but I was by myself and found that out around 7:15, so I had over an hour to sit there. I ended up just people watching and a coworker saw me and we ended up hanging out before the race. He was meeting some friends there, so I hung out with that group both before and after the race.
This is me before the race, standing next to the map that shows where the races go (both the 5K and the 10K).
So 8:30 finally arrived and we lined up at the start. I couldn't believe how many people there were. I was going to try to stay with my coworker and his friends, but they took off so fast at the start, weaving through people, that I didn't really bother. I'm fine running by myself anyways, so I just chugged along.
I got to the first mile marked in 9:10 according to my watch. Which made me really happy. BUT, I knew I had done that already at the Penn Hills Romp and tanked in the 3rd mile, so I just said to myself that I could do this and kept going.
At some point, I noticed the person in the Penn Hills Romp who beat me to come in 3rd place in our age category- she beat me out to win a prize which really disappointed me at the Penn Hills Romp. She was in front of me, so I made it a point to pass her. And she must have recognized me, as well (I think). Because she kept trying to pass me, so I would pass her. That really motivated me and kept my mind on that instead of how far I was going.
Somewhere around mile marker 2 (which wasn't actually marked), I pushed ahead and passed her, and moved around some people. It was kind of hard in this race, too, because it was so crowded. The first half was in the street but after the turnaround you were on the trail next to the river, which was smaller. So I figured if I got around some groups of people, maybe that would slow her down.
I didn't see her again after that, although knowing she was back there helped me push. And when I got to PNC Park, I knew there still was some race left, but I started to speed up. And push harder. By the time I got to the finish- the other 3 times I put on a burst of speed, but I had no more burst in me. I maintained the pace I had started at PNC Park, which is good in itself, but wasn't able to speed up much more than that.
Also, because I had been trying to stay ahead of the other woman, I hadn't really been paying attention to my watch. When I got done, I stopped it, and it said 28:31, which was just unbelievable! I was in shock. My official time came in at 28:30 (it always takes me a little bit to actually stop my watch) and I was 16th in my age group, out of 52. I also finished in the first half of runners overall. I was 351 out of 765. So I have definitely improved, a lot. (My fastest time before this was the Penn Hills Romp, and it was 30:48. So I improved my time by over 2 minutes, which is a lot for a 5K.)
My next race is on Saturday. I don't expect to have that kind of time, because the race is going to be at least somewhat hilly. And I know I did push really hard to get the time I did at this race. I think it's going to take some work to improve on this time, but that's why we always have goals!
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