My second Redlegs Run for Home 5K Race was this morning.

Unofficial Time: 30:19 [UPDATE: Official Time - 30:19]

So close! My goal was to run it in less than 30 minutes, but my time was close enough to make me happy, and it is a personal best. This time is also 3 minutes faster than the Flying Pig 5K a month ago and beats my time from last year. Considering I didn’t train as much as I should have during the past month, I’m very happy with the results!

My running partner wasn’t able to make it (she volunteered to help out at the event instead), so I was on my own this time. I knew that in order to reach my goal, I was going to have to push myself hard, harder than I have previously. My pace for the Flying Pig 5K was slow, since my goal then was only to run the entire distance and I knew I needed to conserve my energy to do that. Having a time goal this go-round meant that I couldn’t take a leisurely jog, but needed to up the pace right from the start. I did just that, finishing mile 1 in 10 minutes, 30 seconds faster than the first Flying Pig mile. Mile 2 was what gave me problems previously, and the same was the case today. I started struggling some, but pushed through it and had a pleasant surprise waiting for me at the mile 2 sign - I had run it in 9 minutes!!! Wow, I couldn’t believe that! Talk about a shot of adrenaline. My second mile at the Flying Pig was around 11 minutes, I think. I don’t know how I managed to do so much better, but at that point I realized the goal was in sight.

A few tenths into mile 3, I took a walk break. This was actually a planned break. I could have kept going, but based on my slow last miles at previous runs, I thought taking a little break would help me refuel for the end. There were a couple of people that were running my pace who went on ahead, and I noticed that even though I was walking, I really wasn’t losing much ground or time. Interesting observation, especially since I ended up passing them later. Taking a walk break may actually help, at least until I get my stamina up to keep the same pace throughout.

Once again, I had just enough in reserve to sprint some at the end, but not quite enough to get to the finish in under 30 minutes. I didn’t have quite as much energy left this time since I had pushed myself harder earlier on, so my sprinting wasn’t near as fast or long as it was at the end of the Pig. Crossing the finish line in the stadium was once again an awesome experience. I was exhausted, but it was a good exhausted, a hard day’s work exhausted, which is something I was missing at the end of the Pig, since I held back too much then and had a lot of energy left over. Not this time though. Three minutes faster! Woohoo!

I was a little worried about the weather at first - the rain and the heat. It figures that we haven’t had rain in weeks, but on race morning it started coming down pretty good. Thankfully, the rain, which didn’t last too long, stayed south of the river, so it wasn’t a factor. The overcast skies and early start time made for a great 72° start temp, which is perfect!

All in all, it was a great day for a run and I was happy with the results. Next up: I’m thinking about the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in September. After that, it’s time to kick it up a notch and get ready for the Flying Pig 10K next May.

And now it’s nap time…