Music in Motion 5K

Race: Music in Motion 5K
Goal: Use as a speed workout and hopefully better my 2008 5K summer
time of 24:27.

This was the first time I've run this race. I've wanted to run it the
past 2 yrs. but I was always so close to harboring an injury at this
stage of the season training for the Chicago marathon.

It was an out and back course with a long gradual incline
(shhhhhh...don't say HILL) somewhat before the turnaround. There's a
story on this. My running friend and I both looked at the map online
and thought the turnaround was just after the incline. Boy, were we
wrong. We get to the top of it and realize we still have more to go
before we can turnaround and come back down.

I felt pretty good the first mile considering I didn't go to bed until
after midnight, had no warmup running and only stretched a tad. Oh,
did I mention that it was pouring down rain as we stood there at the
start listening to the National Anthem. We were all just standing
there laughing, feeling like little kids on a rainy summer day, waiting
for the song to end so we could start torchering ourselves.

First mile was right on cue.....7:50....right on the money for me. Got
into a nice, comfortable, yet taxing breathing pattern. Started to
gradually pass some people, yet I just couldn't seem to reel in this
one woman that stayed about 20 ft. ahead of me the whole time.
Hmmmm...I wonder if she's in my age bracket?(40-44). Never
mind....just run your own race Weebs!!

After staying pretty composed on the "incline", got to the turnaround
and headed for the finish. After getting back to the bottom, at the 2
mile marker they yelled 16:00 even. Oops....kinda slowed way down
there...time to step it up a notch.

This is where it got ugly. It seems that sometimes when I run a race
with a downhill, my breathing pattern must change enough that I get a
sidestitch from hell. I felt it coming on between a 1/2 mile and 3/4
mile to go. I tried to concentrate more on my breathing as I reeled
more people in. I was getting closer and closer to the "woman" ahead
of me and was about 3 ft. behind her when out of the blue, Brian(a
fellow runner I know) came up to the "woman" and started pumping her up
saying you're gonna reach your goal...come on you can do it. All the
while I'm thinking...I'm not gonna make it...I'm gonna puke....this
knife in my side is gonna kill me!! ACCKK! I just can NOT catch
her...and it's pissing me off! I got a tenth of a mile away from the
turn to the finish line and I SERIOUSLY wanted to walk. I thought, why
the HELL amd I doing this? My goal at this point was to NOT
stop....forget the girl in front on me!

Btw, not only did she finish 4 seconds ahead of me, she pr'd by 2
minutes from her previous 5K AND she was in my age group. Yeah, nice
huh? lol

My official time was 24:30, not my best but pretty much average for
me. Got 2nd in my age group....yes...she got first. I talked to her
after the race and congratulated her(yes, I'm competitive, but I was
polite and kept my hands in my pockets all the while envisioning
yanking on her hair and beating the crap out of her) while smiling.
Just kidding on that last part....kinda! ;-) Brian apologized to me
and said he knew the other "woman" and I were in the same age group,
but she was his running partner and he had to ride home with her!! lol

My running friend, Jocelyn, finished in 22:47, average for her but 1st
in her AG(25-29).

The male overall finished in a new course record of 15:20!!! The
female overall finished in a new course PR of 1 second, 19:29.

I was told this is a pretty competitive race and draws fast ones from
towns further away, which showed by the first place male finish!
Geez, 15:20???? That's rockin' fast!

After the race we went out for breakfast, got groceries, and then went
home to take a nap.

Weebs