Last year when I ran this 5K in Monroe (sponsored by the Y), I had a great time and a great time--only a few seconds off my 5K PR. And I wore a costume!
This year I was not so excited about this race, considering how I was in my slump. I certainly had no intentions of wearing a costume to slow myself further! I did, however, wear a favorite orange running shirt. (Funny thing, the race shirts, which lots of people wore for the run, were also bright orange, so I certainly did not stand out from the crowd.)
I kept it low key, bringing only my mother for support and not inviting any other spectators. I recognized a few people from the Everett Y (pretty much all faster runners than me). I warmed up with about two miles around the lake that comprises much of the race route, then lined up mid-pack. I heard a woman near me tell her friend that she would probably go out fast, but didn't know how long she would last due to a hip injury. I moved out of her way. (She did burst ahead of me, but the hip must have slowed her because I caught up later...though I'm pretty sure she picked it up in the end and finished ahead of me.)
5K's are hard. Whether you are fast or slow, it is really hard to run as fast as you can and feel your lungs being ripped out of you. (What, you don't feel that when you run a 5K?) I think my first mile was around 8:15 (I don't care enough to go back and check my Garmin splits). I slowed (more) in the second mile. The low point had to be near the end of mile 2 when I felt my shoe come untied. Didn't I double tie? I don't know, I thought I had, but there it was flopping around (left shoe). I contemplated running on, but there was still too much race left. I stepped aside and stopped to tie my shoe, undoubtedly losing a lot of time doing it!
There were various people running in my vicinity that I tried to pass or keep up with to motivate myself. My main "competition" was a 10-or-so-year-old girl (dressed as a princess or a fairy) running with her dad...I am pleased to say I passed them in the second mile and never looked back!
I pushed for the finish line and was rather disappointed to see the clock tick out of the 26-range...my time was 27:06. This awful picture from the end of the race pretty much says it all. At least I beat the tiger.
As I crossed the finish line I disturbed my mom somewhat by saying "I'm a loser, I'm a loser." It was not a good thing to say. But I'll tell you what made it come out of my mouth... 1) Last year I won my age group. With this time I wasn't winning anything. 2) I was really pissed that I had to stop to tie my shoe.
Anyhow, it wasn't the best 5K, but it's another one for the books.
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