Autism Speaks 5k

Last weekend my mom texted us to see if we were interested in running a 5k the following weekend.  The race was only $15 and the proceeds went to a program called Autism Speaks which focuses on funding autism research as well as advocates for individuals with autism.  We were already going to be in town for Easter and the race would be a great tune-up for our Get Busy Livin 5k we are really excited to run next weekend, so we were all in.  My mom and dad planned to walk the course with Carter.  They had run the race the year before and mentioned it was a really small race.  I was concerned I would get lost during the race because I'd had some trouble at the Jolly Runner.  I've never had to worry about knowing road race courses because I always just follow the people in front of me, but at that race I couldn't see anybody ahead of me and the guy I was running with didn't know the course either.  We missed a turn and had to double back to it once we noticed the people behind us had turned.

Jeremy, Ty, a friend, me, and Carter after the race.

My worries were definitely justified as the race took off and I passed runners until there were only 2 people in front of me, Jeremy and some guy I didn't know.  We got to a sign stuck in the ground that said "1 mile" and directed us to turn around and head back to the start.  Jeremy and the other guy turned around so I followed, but was very confused because my Garmin showed we were at the half mile mark, not the mile mark.  As we passed by people still heading out I slowed down and yelled to them asking if we were going the right way.  Some people ignored me and others must not have known.  We got all the way back to the race start, after running past numerous volunteers directing runners (who must not've known the course beyond where they were directing runners), where the race director instructed us to turn back around and when we got to the mile sign we had seen before continue to go straight.  It turned out the turn around was for the mile fun run which we didn't realize they had.  The sign showing the 5k where to go was blown down because it was really windy.  So Jeremy, the guy behind him, me, and a guy behind me all ran 3.99 miles rather than 3.1.

My goal for the Get Busy Livin 5k is to break 21 minutes so I hoped to run low 21's at this race.  My plan was to take off the first mile in 6:45 and attempt to pick up the pace the next 2 miles.  After slowing down to ask for directions and yelling at other runners, my first mile was 6:49.  Not bad considering the circumstances.  I knew I was a bit over pace so I tried to pick it up the 2nd mile and began passing runners who hadn't taken a race detour like we had.  My 2nd mile was 6:42.  During the 3rd mile I continued to push the pace, but just couldn't bring myself to pick it up as much as I normally would have knowing I still had almost a mile left after I hit the 5k mark.  My 3rd mile was 6:46.  When I reached the 5k point, according to my Garmin, I pushed my split button.  It showed I had run 3.11 miles (I didn't get it stopped exactly at 3.1) in 21:01.  I was really excited I had come so close to breaking 21 minutes even with the debacle at the start of the race.  At the same time I was frustrated I was only 2 seconds away from breaking 21 minutes.  I definitely could've runner harder at the finish, but I didn't want to hobble toward the finish line after running the extra distance.

I decelerated once I hit the 5k point and decided to coast to the finish line, but still run a decent pace.  I kept the pace for the last section of the race at 7:10 pace which I was actually surprised by.  I thought I'd slowed down more than that.  I was surprised to see Ty standing at the finish line as I got closer, not sure why because I hadn't passed him.  It turned out he missed one of the turns toward the end of the race and accidentally cut the course.  I was also surprised to realize that I had come in 5th place overall (counting Ty) and 1st overall female with a finishing time around 26:50.  Jeremy had ended up winning the race in a time of 25:03.  The local newspaper ran a picture of Jeremy with a caption including his finishing time, but didn't mention he had run an extra mile.  I'm sure people who knew him and saw the photo were confused by his finishing time.

Carter walking Bobby during the race.

Although the race was a bit of a fiasco, I really enjoyed it.  It also gave me a confidence boost.  I am feeling really good about breaking 21 minutes this weekend.  I was so close to breaking 21 minutes and still had enough left to run almost an entire extra mile at 7:10 pace.  That proves to me that I could have run faster.  The course this weekend has lots of turns which really slow you down, but I still think I can run a good time.  The Autism Speaks 5k was really windy, so hopefully the wind will be a bit calmer which will give me an edge over this past race.  I'm excited for Saturday to see what I can do!      

Carter enjoyed walking around after the race.