U Can Finish 5 Miler – 2013

The answer to question is YES. Yes, I CAN run faster. Well, faster than I could at 11 weeks pregnant.

I’m no speed demon, but that, my friends, is a PR.

I have to say, I’m giddy that I’m posting race recaps again! So here goes…

On Friday I got a text from Paula… our friend Klainie offered to pick up our race packets for us, IF we would come to her accessory swap on Saturday. At first we were like “What packets?” and then we remembered that you wore bibs when you raced. Wow, we are out of practice. While we COULD have picked up our packets the day of the race, I didn’t mind being coerced into going to a party. So we went and we had a lot of laughs.

I came with nothing, I left with accessories.

Paula spent the night (which she may never do again thanks to my older two waking up at five freaking thirty in the morning, just for shits and giggles) and we were all up and at ‘em by 6:15. Yawn.

Don’t judge us, we’re tired.

Like last year, we left the house around 6:50 and and got in line to race at UCF by 7:20. I love races close to home! After the National Anthem (which they randomly forgot to do last year) we were off and my racing season began. Woo-hoo!!

The course for the 5-miler was the same as last year, which is a good thing (despite running the last .25 into the sun, at least I remembered to wear sunglasses this yes). My start was slow, due to the congestion, but I was able to speed up by the half mile mark and things were smooth from that point on.

My splits were pretty consistent. I pushed myself a little, especially at the end, but I know I had more in me. I could have ran a few more miles at that pace (though, definitely NOT a half marathon).

• Mile 1: 9:05
• Mile 2: 8:57
• Mile 3: 9:00
• Mile 4: 9:04
• Mile 5: 8:48
• +.07: 7:21*

(*there were a lot of turns so my tangents were definitely off)

I have no idea WHY, but even pushing it I felt AMAZING. My legs felt great, I felt prepared, and despite being exhausted (I went to sleep at midnight and E woke up twice last night – yay teething!) I felt really energized. It was as if I had drank an entire pot of coffee and chugged a few Red Bulls (in reality, I barely drank a cup of coffee). I seriously have no idea what this was about — maybe I just had some pent up energy or maybe I was just really excited to be around other runners again. Whatever it was, I hope I don’t lose it anytime soon.

The best part of the race was seeing Dan and the kids twice during the course. There is nothing better than having your very own cheer squad. <3

Ok, maybe PRing was the best part. It’s a close call.

I have to admit, I went into this race REALLY nervous that I was expecting too much out of myself. I know I pretend to NOT care about pace/time, but yeah right. I care. I’m happy to say that I’m pretty damn proud of myself. And I left a lot of wiggle room for another PR. I can run this race faster.

After the race, Paula and I met up and her stalker (my daughter) photobombed our traditional post-race photo.

FYI, if you ever want a self-esteem boost, hang out with a 4-year old. Paula is pretty much her hero. She IS pretty awesome.

After the race Paula headed home (where I’m hoping she took a 4 hour nap. Someone needs to sleep) while the 5-pack stopped by Davis Bakery for a family breakfast.

I love this place. They made a MEAN bagel sandwich. And they use butter. Lots of butter.

I did some day drinking.

And hung out with this happy dude while everyone else went to the gym.

We even snuggled up and took a little nap. In fact, everyone napped.

Yeah, today was pretty perfect.

I’m REAAAAALLY hoping that next year I’ll be running the Chicago Marathon (!!) this weekend, but if not I will be running this race again. Thanks for another great race, Track Shack!