I really thought that a few more weeks would make the chill I felt in the St. Partick's Day 7k race a distant memory. But when I got up this past Saturday and was greeted by gusty 20 degree temp. I came to terms with the fact that I was heading out for another artic-winded race.
About 80-100 runners showed up, including 2 Shoals students and three teachers. When we lined up for the race, we were begging the starter to fire his gun so we could get warm. With a bang, we were heading up a slight but steady incline into a north wind for about 12 blocks. When the gun went off, my feet were quickly weaving through the crowded street. I felt this upward pull as we were edging toward the 1st mile marker. I looked at my watch and saw 7:15 after that point. I was both pleased and a bit nervous that I was probably running over my head at this point. I was aiming for an 8 minute pace, thinking that would be a challenge in this cold.
The next mile was rolling and it helped me maintain a good pace of 7:30. When we made the turn for the last mile, we ran along a river on a tree-lined path that wound continuously left and then right. I expected that on my final mile several runners would cruise by so I wasn't disappointed when just 3 left me in the dust. I could feel my ankles getting tired and my mobility becoming more limited.
Suddenly the trees disappeared and I soon realized I was a mere 2 blocks away. When I saw the finish line timer, I found my kick, seeing I could get a personal best. I crossed the line at 23:37 which did turn out to be a personal best for me.
I had set a goal of running a 5k in 23:30 this summer. I have decided that I need to raise the bar to 22:59. When I got across the line, I forgot about the cold. It was great to celebrate the race with Kelly and new running friends at a nearby bagle shop.
It felt good to run and then talk about running over a hot drink and big bagle. We even dreamed some about running a marathon.... SOMEDAY.
