This run was good. I worked my way to the front of the start. I know I am not a fast runner but I did not want to get stuck in the back of the pack. The last race I did at this spot I had a 45 second difference in my run time and my chip time. This caused me to be a couple places behind some folks but I ran a faster time. Now by no means am I a great runner and I will not win or be close but I like the mental edge it gives me to be a couple spots up in the standings. Just a mental thing for me.

The gun went off and the people were happy to start running. We went up hill around a slight corner and began the down and back. I did good. I wanted to pace myself but also push myself. I had a goal to finish in under 25 minutes. I knew I could do it if I stayed focused and tried. This was a fun race because lots of people dressed up for St. Patrick’s day so it gave me a lot to focus on. Lots of funny stuff.

Mile 1 was not as fast as I wanted it to be. I think I was around 7:30ish. My lack of warm up made it hard to get the bones going. I was trying a more relaxed running style. In previous races I had exploded out way faster than I should and paid for it in the end. About at mile 1.5 I could feel myself doing better but also felt as if I had fallen into a groove. At this point I was not sure what way my body was going to go.

I hit mile 2 at about 15:30ish. I knew I was in trouble. I had hit a groove and stayed there and began to slow down. I noticed me stride was getting shorter and I noticed I was beginning to hit my long run pace not the short run pace I wanted to get. I decided to try and run harder. On the way back you can see where the finish is. This was a big mental boost for me. I just dug in and ran as hard as I could. I was now feeling good. I was rounding the corner to head down the hill to the finish and saw my son and brother standing there yelling at me to go. That has was a good feeling so I continued to run hard. I was on my way to finish and came across the finish in 23:13. I had beat my goal and had a beat my previous record on this course by a couple minutes. I felt good and was happy with how I did. I found my brother and my son and we found a spot to cheer my wife on as she ran. My son was very excited to see mom run and cheer her on it was fun to see. After all the adult races were done they had a small half mile kids run. That was fun to see. My son amazed me. He did great. I was not to sure what to expect out of him. Would he run or walk or take a couple steps and tell us he was done. He was off like a lightening bolt and back in about 5 min. He ran the whole way and had a lot of fun.
Over all for the whole family this was a fun morning. Lots of people and lots of fun.


Test myself and run harder.