Today's race was really, really fun. It was so great being back out there again and having the Monkey on board made it even more exciting. She was awesome, by the way. She actually was hooting and hollering while we were running. I told people she was cheering for us:)
We finished in 24:03; a 7:45 pace. And get this, the Monkey and I got 1st place!! (among the jogging strollers that is and that's ONLY because there was 1 other stroller even in the race. Lol!) But sadly, according to the Run For Your Life (race host) results page, they missed us and gave 1st place to someone else. (even with the Monkey cheering her way across the finish line - they still missed us!) What can I say:).
The only tricky part of the race was the start. There were only about 275 women there - love that they separated the women and men into 2 different races. Perfect! I thought for awhile about where to start. At the back of the pack and wait until people spread out or rather, should I put myself right up front and have them go around me? The "runner Allison" in me wanted to start right up front but I guess the "safety Mom" should have started in the back. Anyway, I put us right up front at the starting line. The more I thought about it, it seemed much safer for us to be in the front and have people go around us if need be vs. me trying to get through the crowd and get around them with this big, bulky stroller (serious tripping hazzard!). I have to say in hindsight, that really was the best move. I started quickly. I got immediately to the right and although it was tricky and I had to be really cautious to anticipate who was going where, I dodged a few people and then we were smooth sailing. By being up front, I do believe I saved myself and the other runners a lot of hassle. (Of course I'm sure others were looking at us like, what is she doing up here?? Lol!) And, this race was really small so there weren't very many quick runners there. That helped as well. Anyway, unless we're in some Super Star race, I'm putting us right up front the next time.
Although this is crazy talk, I'm a little bummed about my time. Uh oh....might I be jonesing to be a racer again??? 24.03 is pretty slow if you think of a regular 5K for me from back in the day. I know I'm getting old but I feel good these days. And yes, add in the jog stroller and I can understand being slower. Of course. That makes sense. The good/bad part of today was I felt really good out there but I was afraid to go any faster for fear I'd conk out. It's been years since I've raced and I've defintiely lost my touch. Add in that I've never had a Monkey in tow so I had no idea what type of pace to run. I don't even know what pace I run on regular days. (maybe I should dust off that Timex and actually run with it. Lol.) It's not like I'm some fierce competitor but I want to run as fast as I can in these races and at the end of today, I felt like I had a lot left. I'll get 'em next time though! And of course, I'm not upset about today at all. It was really invigorating to be back out there again and I loved the challenge the jogging stroller added to the mix. We will definitely be doing more races. I've already scouted out 2 coming in July - James K Polk 5K and the Run for Your Cause - 4 Miler. I'm back racing again! Yessssssss!
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