The Ten 5k Challenge - Race #2 Recap

I made a New Year's Resolution to run ten 5k races in 2010. Here is a recap that I wrote this past Sunday, for the Father's Day 5k in Fulton.

Felt great the entire run today, finished with a clocked time of 24:09 (my watch said 24:07 but there was a 1-2 second delay as I was a few rows back of the front row of runners). Knocked out the first mile in a cool 7:31, which was good. A slight hill in the first mile as it went up and away from the lake, and a water stop at the 2:30 mark that I ignored. Since this was a up and back race this stop was more strategically placed for the end-run.

Knocked out the second mile in exactly 8 minutes, so I was at 15:31 for 2 miles. This was after reaching the turnaround point and dousing a cup of water on my back. I realized that I had been coasting a bit at the 2 mile mark, so I turned it up, found a nice rhythm and some shade and upped it a bit. Got to the third mile at 23:17, so I was a 7:48 for the third mile. The race ended around the corner from the start and they threw one more big hill in at around the 2.8 mile mark, but I had enough juice to push up the hill. Didn't even try to drink the water, just dumped it on my back again at that point.

Finished 35th out of the first 135 runners to finish when they posted the times... and there were still people finishing when they posted it. I suspect they had over 150 finishers. The 24:09 time put me fourth overall in my M35-39 age group, which was won by a guy about 75 seconds ahead of me. UPDATE: Results updated, finished 34th out of 180 runners who finished and 3rd overall in my age group.

I think if I keep improving I could actually finish first in my age group in one of these smaller races, that has 100-200 entrants. And that would be a real coup! In the interim I was happy to be 69 seconds faster than my race time from two weeks ago. Next race isn't for another 5 weeks so I have time to work on it. God damn, it is fun to do these races I must admit. Way more fun than I thought it would be. Having success, finishing high in my age group, helps to make it more enjoyable. It's such a contrast to my horrific golf game, where I'm the worst golfer in my league.

UPDATE #2: Registered to run a 5k next weekend in Virginia while there visiting my cousin.