Race #7 of the Season: Big Waves 5K

So. I will let you know that I didn't intentionally mean to race a 5K six days after an IRONMAN. Run that distance? Maybe. Race it? Nope.

However, I did loosely know about this event before IM and completely forgot about it until someone mentioned it in one of the groups I'm in on Facebook.

Long story short, a dear friend of a Skirt sister (and who is now a Skirt sister herself I think) was a victim of gun violence during a road rage incident last year and lost one of her sons as a result. She started a foundation in the aftermath and this race was to benefit it. I knew a lot of other Skirt sisters racing, so I decided I'd show up.

I'd run once since IMoo ... and it was a terribly slow, awful, and painful two miles. So I really had no clue how this was going to go. I figured I'd head out and if I ended up walking most of it - so be it.

That's not exactly what happened.

I headed out and it felt pretty good. My throat/breathing was still a little rough (I think from race day still), but I was like a half mile in and still running so I just went with it.

Finally walked for the first time about three-quarters of a mile in. However, at that point ... I don't know if it was race brain or what, but it kicked in and I kept running as hard as I could.

I also realized that, place-wise, I wasn't doing too terribly. Not enough for an award (only to top-three gender-wise each for kids and adults), but enough to make me want to keep pushing. 

(who am I and what have I become?)

Sure, it hurt some, but I also knew enough from Moo that it wouldn't hurt more (probably) to keep pushing and if it got actually painful, well, then I'd back it off.

That never happened.

Overall Stats:
Time: 30:35.4
3/13 division (F30-39)
16/106 gender
55/195 overall

I'm still clearly chasing that sub-30 (ugh), but I did manage sub-10:00/mi. It was also, of note, five seconds faster than the 5K I raced in June in the midst of training. What that notes I don't know, but I figured it was worth mentioning.

More of note: I almost puked after (still not sure how I didn't), which means I probably raced it correctly. Hooray!