I was a bit nervous about coming back up the start hill but figured I would deal with that when the time came. It felt good starting out downhill; helped to get the legs moving. I will preface this by saying that I thought I was running just a little bit faster than my normal long run training speed. I had turned the music on to help pass the time and provide a little motivation. The first 10 minutes I was a little short of breath, but not bad. I chalked it up to first time experience running with a group of 500+ of your closest friends and it takes me about 10 minutes to find anything resembling a consistent pace. They told us that the turnaround was a little less than half way through the race so I didn't really bother trying to figure out my pace at that point. On the return trip, I finally realized that they had mile markers set up. I was still feeling a little shorter of breath than normal, but focused on mechanics. I must be doing something out of the ordinary. Focus on your stride, dork. As I passed the 3 mile marker, I looked at my watch: 24 minutes and some odd seconds. The mile markers must be wrong. Oh well, it doesn't really matter. I know when I get back to the hill, its not much further. Finally, I rounded the corner to see the bottom of the hill. Most people were still running up it, with only a couple of people walking. I flashed back to the Lake Geneva tri from August: the Killer Hill. This was no killer hill and I was NOT about to walk up or even slow down. "It's only a 5 mile run" I kept telling myself. "You can do this in your sleep." I'm running up this hill behind 2 ladies who are running side by side. Their pace slowed down a little but I figured that I had less than a mile to go: push it you wimp. I pass them on the right and start pumping my arms like I have read. I feel the quads heating up a little bit and use it a challenge to push harder. Finally, the top of the hill! Doh! It keeps going a little more, after a turn to the left! No worries, I can see the top of this last little bit. Push! Less than 1/2 mile to go! I look at my watch. Ah crud, I must have bumped it or something, the time doesn't look right. Doesn't matter now, I'm almost at the end. I keep pushing through the last flat bit of the course toward the finish line. The crowd of finished runners is getting thicker, I must be close. Finally, the finish line is in sight. For the past 20 minutes I have had the HR monitor on to try to figure out what my max HR is and my current HR is 173. I don't think I have ever had my heart beating this fast. Guess my watch AND the HR monitor are going crazy. Here it is, the finish line, and they have a clock set up. I cross the finish line and it says 40:29. I look at my watch and it says the same. Guess the only thing going crazy was me.

Probably nothing except trust the electronic gadgetry that I am wearing. I not only set a personal record, but I CRUSHED my previous best 5 mile time set on a flat course!

Warm down consisted of congratulating some of the people that I had met before the race, then heading into the building for fluids. The first fluid: peppermint schnapps. Second one also. Figured this was a great way to get a carbo recharge. Sucked down a cup of water and then grabbed a beer (or 4).


Short legs and too many pounds. The fact that I was not aware of how fast I was going probably actually helped me go faster!


This is an awesome event. The run is just an excuse for a great party afterward. I will definately do this one again next year, but I will break the 8 min/mile barrier next time!