DRC Frigid 5K

I PRed (Personal Record) again!!! It was beyond Frigid that morning, and I am convinced that it was the cold that partially helped me PR. My sister and I met to drive together, and I enjoyed having her there with me. She is much more fit than I have ever been, and she did really well. But it was nice to have someone to talk to while waiting, and I especially enjoyed having her at the finish line.

I had checked the stats ahead of time to see if I'd be the last one (I've learned to do that so I'm not the wayyyyy last one) and it looked like if I stayed at a pace under 15 minutes/mile, I'd be at least like 20 from the last. I have been training in the 14 minute range, and I PRed at the White Rock Relay with a 14:20 pace, so I was hoping for at least a pace below 14:20/mi. I was hoping on a super good pace to make it below 14:00, and a hopeful 13:30. In the very back of my mind, I was wishing for a time under 40 minutes, which would be like a 12:57/mi pace, but I knew that was probably more unrealistic.

As I started out, I was moreso relishing in being around serious runners. I tend to people watch a lot before a race - what people are wearing, how they are warming up, what they are talking about. Most people seemed to be not really insulated, and the experience level seemed to be inversely proportional with the amount of clothing. There were a few dogs and a few kids. The crowd was interesting to watch from the back as I noticed the field of bobbing heads, and the dispersed puffs of breath in the freezing air. It was definitely Frigid, but the sun was out and it was actually a rather gorgeous morning.

My sister and I ran together the first 45 second (which I had fumbled with the Garmin yet again, and just stuck with it alerting me every 45 seconds rather than doing an interval setting), then she and I split. She ended up running the entire race, which was a huge accomplishment for her since she had only run a full 5 or so minutes previously (at least since her 20s). And my Garmin kept telling me I was at like a 12:00/mi pace. I actually found myself doubting the accuracy of my Garmin. It was, in fact, correct. I could substantially feel my training paying off...I felt in shape.

Mile 2 was a little slower, as I expected. The turn around was exactly halfway through, and it was encouraging to see other runners/walkers behind me. This is probably the first race I didn't spend a lot of time looking back to see if I was in last place. Mile 3 was encouraging as the majority of it seemed to be just around the corner to the finish line. And sure enough, I finished with an amazing PR. My previous PR pace was 14:20, and this new pace of 13:12/mi was crazy fast.

There is something bizarre and on a new dimensional plane that seems to happen at a race where the crowd, the situation, everything seems to seriously push me into a new level of ability. I was surprised to see myself pacing ahead of some other more seasoned runners, as well. I tried out a 45/45 sec walk/run interval, and it seemed to work well for me. I couldn't believe I did as well as I did, and I am still in a little shock. I would say the overall thought I realized is that I have spent a lot of my life thinking "I'm not an athlete. Exercise is just not easy for me. Other people get this better than me." And I'm am starting to think that maybe "I am an athlete. Wow, my body is capable of more than I sometimes think. Wow, I'm actually doing this...well."

Pretty cool. I don't have my mile stats, and really I kind of got so wrapped up in the race that I didn't realized the exact lap points. My first DRC training group meeting is Wednesday and I am super excited and super nervous. I'm not looking forward to the weather this week, but I can run in this...I did run in this!

I'm so glad I keep "just showin' up"!!!

Stats:
23 out 34 Athena Division (68%)
172 out of 206 Women (83%)
323 out of 376 All (86%)
13:12/mi
41:03.68
DRC Frigid 5K
1/02/10