Flat as a Pancake 5K! Great race today - I am so glad that I ran it. The race was a fundraiser for the West Jordan XC Team, and the kids did a great job putting it together (except for maybe promoting the event to get more people to race). The course is as flat and accurate as you could hope for with about 1 mile on the road/track and 2 miles on dirt.
I ran a short warm-up with Allie and James (1+ mile) then a couple strides. The race started and a large group went out fast. I tried to hang back, knowing that going out too fast would be detrimental because of my lack of speed work. The first 1/2 mile is on the road then it's an out-and-back on the dirt canal trail. No mile markers and I forgot to start my watch, so I have no idea how fast/slow I was running. I passed several of the early sprinters then was solo for the last 2 miles. I got to see Allie and James duking it out right before the turn-around and wished that I was in better shape because they were already a good 45 seconds in front of me! My breathing was pretty out-of-control, and I just couldn't get my legs moving faster (not surprising). I hit the road again at 2.5 miles and got a boost from the faster surface. The last 350 meters are around the track and I finished in 19:13.
I had absolutely no pain and felt very much like my old self, except for slower time :) I am so thrilled with this - I ran what I thought I was capable of (my guess was 19:15) and seriously no discomfort! This is 2:15 faster than Draper Days 8 weeks ago.
I asked Allie and James how they did, and Allie ran an 18 second PR (17:30)!! James ran his best 5K in over a year....so a satisfying day for all of us. We cooled down for 2+ miles. Our rewards were the choice of a jug of orange juice, grape juice, or milk! You had to be there, but this was just hilarioius. You can see how happy Allie is - she chugged all 100 grams of sugar in that healthy chocolate milk.
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