First off I have to say that I did not meet my goal time. Repeat, I did not meet my goal time. I was kind of a brat when I came through the finish line and saw that I didn't break under 20 minutes. Never mind the fact that I was the first female to come through he finish, and was the open winner. It took me a minute to get over it and be happy for the overall win. Such a brat...
2nd thing before I get to the mile for mile stuff. There is a bit of controversy regarding the accuracy of the time clock. My Garmin said I crossed the finish line at 20:39. Run13's clock read 20:55. I thought that was weird. I saw a local gal named jennifer hughes and she brought up to me that she felt like her time may not be accurate. She felt like she ran just as fast or faster than that 5k we ran 4 weeks ago. But she came in almost a minute slower. And she was only 2 weeks postpartum last time. Then, a guy I am friends with (thanks to Lyns) named Perry emailed me yesterday afternoon and asked me if I thought something was up with the their time clock. (I didn't bring it up with either of these two). Then if you look over at Michellel's blog she states that the time clock for their 10k (same race, different distance) was not in sync. It was opposite for them though, it said they were faster than what they actually were. It's not like there is any good in saying anything. There isn't anything they can do. But hey, 16 seconds fast is 16 seconds faster and that is important to me. I'll just say this: I believe my Garmin. It's in sync with satellite and I use it almost everyday. I know it is accurate! But I digress..... Mile 1: Got a great start off the line. I was immediately at the head of the pack with men. I never saw a single women the whole race. My Garmin says I ran a 5:54 for half of this mile. Go me go! Course is flat the whole time. There was no rain and the sun was out. It was beautiful. Mile 2: Felt the same. Really, there isn't a whole lot to say or point out except that I passed 2 men who were in front of me the first mile and a half. I just have to say (and no I am not a feminist) it feels so good to pass healthy strong looking men in a race. It just shows me that I have trained my body well to use my legs to rock the speed. Mile 3: this one was the killer. I slowed a bit to a 6:53 I don't know why. I felt myself doing it and when I realized I tuned my head into the beat and words of the song I was listening to. You'll laugh if I tell you what song and who sings it. It was on repeat the whole time. I'll just tell you that the chorus line of the songs says: Don't Stop runnin'
'Cause without you
I've got nothin'
I know you're somewhere runnin' straight to me
Don't stop runnin'
Don't stop
Keep on runnin'
Don't stop
Keep on runnin'... ....and you know what? It worked. I started telling myself: speed up Lily, you do this every morning at super fast paces. DON'T STOP, RUN FASTER! And so I did.
the .1 is a blur because I was looking at my watch and the time clock and they weren't insync. And I hadn't quite beat my goal. But I looked over and there were a lot of people clapping for me ( must have been because I was the first female they saw through the line) and it actually made me feel good. And my kids always run to me like I'm a superstar. I had so much fun in the park after the race and talked a few people I knew. My husband brought doughnuts and embarrassingly I ate 3 of them ahhhhh! I got my medal and the money and we were out of there. The drive home I sung at the top of my lungs with my daughter in the car to Justin Beiber's baby. :) Good times good times. I ♥ running. Have I ever said that it is just a part of who I am? I really mean that.......... 
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