4th of July Race Recap!
Before I begin this recap, I have to say something. Highland Park, Illinois is the town where I grew up. I wish I could say I’m shocked and horrified that a shooting could take place there, but sadly the 2018 shooting in Parkland, Florida occurred in the town right next to us. My son has friends who attended Stoneman Douglas and my coworkers have kids there. Unless something changes, we’re all eventually going to be saying that it happened in the town next to us, or in our hometown, or directly to us. The second amendment to our constitution says “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” Well regulated! Can we PLEASE do something to regulate guns in this country? Now, on to the race. Yesterday my husband and I ran the Weston July 4th Hometown Celebration 5K. We run this race every year… unless there’s a pandemic, or I’m injured. Let’s just say I haven’t run it in several years, and I was happy to be back! The race started at 7:15, and we got there early to pick up our bibs and get warmed up. I wore my festive shirt, but only before the race- I ran the race in shorts and a sports bra because it was a HOT day. I ran a mile to warm up, and then I employed a trick which has served me well in the past- I brought along ice in a cooler and put a handful of ice cubes into the front of my bra. It cooled me down SO MUCH. My husband obviously didn’t have this option, and he said he was extremely hot waiting for the race to start, while I was comfortable. They played the national anthem, and I tried to focus on the good things about our country. It’s getting harder and harder (and this was before the Highland Park shooting, of course.) In spite of everything, we’re incredibly privileged to live in America. Compared to other parts of the world where people live in unstable and dangerous situations, we have it pretty good. Really good. And then the race started! My goal was to hold a steady 9 minute mile pace throughout. I don’t want to go on and on about it, but it’s still a little frustrating to me that my current 5K pace is 9 min/mile. In recent races, I think I just wasn’t accepting that’s where I’m at right now, and I would go out too fast and then completely crumble in the last mile. For this race I really wanted to be realistic, run the correct pace, and hold that pace till the end. My first mile felt hard-ish but under control, and my Garmin beeped at 8:57. Considering how hard it is to hold back at the start of a race, I thought that was an excellent beginning. The second mile was 8:54. The third mile was where it truly got hard. I’ve been working on my mental game for that last mile, and I pushed myself- and my third mile was 9:07. Now, I’m no math whiz, but it seemed to me that whether or not I averaged a 9 minute/mile pace would all come down to that last .1 mile. Somewhere in the second mile I had become aware that I was running behind a young girl- maybe eight years old? Nine? Ten? For a while I was determined not to let her get too far ahead, but in the third mile I realized I was gaining on her. I resolved to pass her in that last tenth of a mile- but as the finish line came into sight, the MEDDLING announcer shouted “You’re almost there! Sprint to the finish!” She sprinted! I sprinted! And she crossed the line just ahead of me. In spite of the fact that I didn’t even know her (and she beat me) I felt incredibly proud of that girl. She’s just a little kid and she ran a great race! Such a consistent pace and she even had a kick at the end. Great job-although I’ll be back next year and you’re going DOWN, Missy! I figured with that ending sprint to the finish, I was surely under a 9 minute pace… but my official time showed this: I PROTEST!!! My Garmin says that I ran 3.15 miles and my average pace was 8:58, so I’m going with that. That’s how it works, right? When there’s a discrepancy between your chip time and your Garmin time, you go with the one you like better! Ha ha. Let’s just say that overall I was happy with my effort. And come on… I can’t take myself TOO seriously. I was battling an eight-year-old to the finish! In the end I can say I honestly had fun, and that’s what really matters. There was the annual fire hose “shower” at the end, which felt amazing. We didn’t stick around very long afterwards. Instead of having the finish line food and festivities outside as they usually do, this year they had it all inside the YMCA. I went in to get a banana, and because I was wet from the shower, the AC was FREEZING COLD. Good thing I didn’t win an AG award (ha ha) because I wouldn’t have been able to stay to get it. Just keep everything outside next year! All in all, we enjoyed this race, as we always do. Now I’m looking forward to the next one! Did you race this weekend? I’m linking this post with Kim and Zenaida for their Tuesday Topics, as well as Coach Debbie Runs, Confessions of a Mother Runner, Mile by Mile, and Runs with Pugs for the Runners Roundup. Thanks, ladies!