Local 5Ks

I love seeing events in my small suburb community grow, while at the same time not reaching the point of insanity so many small-town events tend to reach.

Every year, we run in a local 5K. Every year, more and more people are registered, and the event gets bigger. But it never feels like it's bigger--I have never attended this event and felt nostalgic to the "good old days" when the event was small and you could make it to the start in a reasonable amount of time.

This year was no different. There were more people than last year, but it felt healthy...not obese. Ted asked if I would mind if he pulled ahead--he wanted to see how fast he could run. Of course I didn't mind, I told him. But I didn't expect him to pull ahead BEFORE we reached the start. He had found an old neighbor of ours who runs, and wanted to see if he could keep that pace. Turns out Ted pulled ahead of the neighbor and finished in 26:50 or something. Dave finished in 22 minutes, while Maggie pulled up the rear with a 29:10.

I was disappointed with my time. The week prior, Ted and I had been running 28s, even flirting with 27s on a few runs. I was excited for this race, hoping for a PR. While the weather wasn't quite the heavy oppressive heat it had been earlier this week, it was very soupy. I didn't really think "Boy it's hot out", but running in it felt very hard, almost like there was a natural resistance.

After the race, Dave jetted off to his evening gig at the YMCA and Ted and I ate pizza and waited for the results.

The winner did it in 15:11.

Although as I get older, I have realized there is one positive thing to come of it...the older I get, the more likely I am to place with the time I'm running in! One of these days, I'll dominate my age group.