Hooray
for above freezing temps!
The
Start
There
were over 1,600 people running the 5K. I was a sea of people. Many dressed up
like lumberjacks with the beards and flannel (think Paul Bunyan). Some ran with axes…not real ones
of course. We started in the back (like always) I really felt like I was
standing out in my bright pink! Oh well. The weather was warmish. It was in the
upper 30s but the wind was a bit crisp.
Not
much to say about the start, there wasn’t a banner overhead, just a flag thingy,
I think that is a bit silly since this was a big race but whatever. There were
a ton of people and I kept getting cut off in my pursuit to keep up with Eric.
It was annoying! The first mile included the hilly bridge. I crossed this bridge
twice last year for races and I had to walk up each time. The Get Lucky 7K (it
happened at mile 3) and Suds Run 5K (going opposite direction at mile 2 and I
had bronchitis). But this time I ran up it and I was happy. It helps that we
ran up it during first mile. The water stop was at the mile 1 marker. I think
it was there because it was convenient for the 10 miler race. I thought about
skipping it but I thought twice about it and decided a little water might be
good. I finished mile 1 at 11:05
The
Middle
The
second mile was along the river. It was a nice stretch of openness, as in the
crowed thinned a bit so I wasn’t getting cut off. My second mile was my fastest
at 10:57. This is very unusual for my mile 2 to be the fastest. Miles 1 or 3
are generally faster. I think if we didn’t have the hilly bridge in mile 1, I would
have been much faster than 11:05.
The
Finish
I
told Eric at the end of mile 2 that he didn’t have to hang back for me. I was
sick and tired of him sprinting ahead of me and then constantly turn his head
to see if I was still behind him. It drove me crazy. So at mile 2 he took off…I
was relieved! I loved the last mile, even if it was my slowest because it was across
the Stone Arch Bridge. Many of my runs have gone across the iconic Minneapolis Bridge.
Like I said, my last mile was the slowest but I don’t think that had anything
to do with Eric leaving me. I walked about 10 seconds at the 2 ½ mile mark before
I ran hard to the finish. The last bit I ran at 10:40 so that bit of walking was
good. If you look at my splits you will see an 8 second split. I accidently hit
the “split” button on my watch, not my “end” button. Oops!
Only
two weeks until my next run, the O’Gara’s Irish 8K Run (5 miles) in St. Paul. I’m
excited to go longer than a 5K again…but also nervous!
Pictures,
Splits and Map
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