New 5K PR!

I wrote a few weeks ago about chasing my PR from 10 years ago and the wisdom (or lack thereof) of trying to beat old times. Well, today I ran in a small, local 5K and had the race of my life! It was cold (40*F is cold for LA in April) with 15-17 mph winds that made it even colder. I warmed up for about 10 minutes and then we were off. My first mile time was 8:48 which is fast for me and that made me feel really confident because I still felt really good. There were lots of hills in the second and third mile that slowed me down a little bit. I also dropped my fuel belt bottle twice for some reason. There was no marker for mile 2, but when I turned into the last section, I knew the finish line was close and that I had my time beat. I crossed the line in 27:11, my fastest 5K ever! I could not believe it. I praised the Lord for having two working legs to run on and a supportive family who indulges my training habit.



The race was sponsored by a local company and many of their employees were there participating. I met lots of nice people, as always, and saw some friends. The race support was great for a small race and everyone had lots of fun. There were photographers all over the course, which I didn't expect for such a small race. I'm sure they got some great pictures of my wiping my nose!

This was my first race ever to place overall (second female). I knew that speed work make people faster, but I did not really believe it would make ME faster. If I can continue to improve my running, there's hope for anyone! If you are thinking about trying a 5K, I highly recommend a small, local race to get your feet wet.