Shamrock 5K Fun Run and Walk - Run5k

When I started out, I had no idea how to pace myself. I was passing some people and being passed by others, but I had no idea how they normally run so I had no idea if I was doing well compared to my norm. I also had trouble right off the bat:

First, I fell out of my bra and my pants started falling down! I kept tugging at my clothes until they fell into place (but not to the ground) when I realized I hadn't turned on my Nike+. But I couldn't get it to find my sensor. Eventually I gave up.

So I was quite pleased to hear at the 1 mile split "11 min. 40 sec." That's better than I do at the gym! I tried to drink water but there wasn't a way to do it without stopping so I skipped it.

For the second mile, I tried to at least keep that pace, if not improve, but the split was 24 min. 42 sec. so I had slowed down -- probably because of the hill. However, I did the math wrong on the course, so I actually though I had improved. This gave me a boost mentally. I also was able to grab water this time. But not drink it. Apparently there is skill involved. I just choked myself so I gave up, figuring it was just a 5K after all.

For the last mile, I wanted to push as much as I could. When we got to the trail part, I knew we were in the stretch. At some point, I heard a local say "there's the finish" so I poured it on, like our track coach told us to, but it was sooner than the last 400 m and I ended up slowing down a bit to survive. I did push more than the first two miles though and, when I saw the finish line and clock at 36'10", I sprinted to the finish line, finishing the last 1.1 mile at 11'39" - slightly faster than the first split for a finish time, for a total time of 36' 21".

That's faster than I ever run the whole 5K and I *never* practice with hills.

I think I still need to push more at the end. I want to finish with absolutely nothing left instead of almost nothing left.

I also need to learn to drink while running. It's going to matter for the triathlons.

Ate a banana and walked around the event area.


Problems with equipment. (I.E., pants falling down.)


The event was well-organized and a lot of fun. The route worked pretty well. The hills were manageable and made it more challenging than if the route had been flat the whole way without making it brutal.