Race # 52- Oakland Park 5k

For the 5k at Oakland Park, I had 3 goals.

 I wanted to get a sub-30 5k time.  I hadn't been feeling that confident since I started running after my injury and I really wanted this. My second goal was to run the whole thing.  My third goal was to try to beat my PR time of 29:44, even by just 1 second but I was pretty sure that wasn't going to happen.

It sounds silly but I loved how they lined the path with these torches.

This was to be the first race where I didn't know anybody running.  It was a little awkward standing around by myself but I quickly got over it.  And right before the start of the race, I saw one of my moms from my class from a couple of years ago.  But I was ready to go!

I took off pretty fast and was feeling good.  When I looked down at the half mile mark and saw that I was running under a 9-minute mile I had to decide quickly to keep going at that pace and know I might burn out and have to walk, or slow down.  I had never run a mile in a race that fast so I decided to keep going for as long as I could.  I kept it up for 2.5 miles before I had to walk a minute.  I did 2 2:1 intervals then ran the rest.  As I was coming through the finish line, I couldn't believe my time.

I did it!  I hit 2 of my goals!  Not only did I get a sub 30, but I got 28:55!  I didn't think I would really beat my PR, much less get a sub 28!!  I didn't stick around long after the race, but I was so proud of myself!

The results don't show my overall place, but I got fourth in my age group!

(And as I write this, I have since PR'd again, and if I had that time during this race, I would have gotten 2nd place!!)