7:36 a.m. - 2007-08-27
Round 1, paragraph b
What: The 12th Annual Mahomet Half Marathon, 5K Race & Fun Walk
Where: Mahomet,IL
When: Aug. 25, 2007
Time: 7am for the half marathon, 7:10 for the rest of us.
Course: 94% asphalt, last 300 meters on rubberized track.
Weather: 72 degrees and intermittent drizzle.
My goal was to knock 4 minutes off my first 5K. I knocked almost exactly 4 minutes off it. My June time was 33 minutes, 22 seconds. Saturday morning I got through it in 29:18:9.
Course started out with a downhill grade making for some excellent first mile times. Second mile was flat so the pace was still excellent. The 3rd mile was uphill and into the breeze and pretty brutal to those of us in the back of the pack. I was wary of the initial downhill grade and tried to pace myself through the first couple miles hoping to finish strong. The last mile made it all I could do to maintain my earlier moderate pace. I did however fare better than some of my fellow sloths. Many of them were walking in that last mile which allowed my slow steady grind to pick a bunch of them off in the last half mile.
This race was a little more organized than the first I ran. While the 5K was mostly local enthusiasts, the half marathon brought people from several states. The winner crossed the line in just under 1 hour, 12mimutes, which is humping it pretty good.
The thing that's intersting about these events is the camaraderie that exists at them. Once the running is done and the beating has been taken, there doesn't seem to be any snobbery from those that can actually run towards people who can't run...like me, for instance. I kind of just enjoyed the hell out of it even though I suck.
OK! I may do another 5K again in a couple months or 10 weeks. (just as a progress check) In the meantime I need to find a 10K to broaden my horizons and push my envelope a little bit. Until then I'll keep doing my thrice weekly half hours and get a little faster.
p.s. as a reward for my job on Saturday, I treated myself to bavarian creme bismarcks and my first full sugared, caffeinated Mountan Dew since early March. The bismarcks were great. I drank about half the Dew and emptied the rest before trashing the container. I used to drink that stuff by the gallon. If you'd have told me a year ago I'd lose my taste for it I'd never have believed it. Now as the Monkees say, I'm a believer!
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