This weekend (Saturday, May 8th) I raced the Arlington Highlands 5k 2k10 in support of the Single Parent Foundation. This was the first year for the race, and they did a great job of organizing it. There were many fun activities to do before and after the race including a classic car show, rock climbing, a petting zoo, and much more.
Fun stuff at the event:
After the race, I got a chance to take pictures with Dallas Cowboy All-Pro Darren Woodson, who hosted the race, and Mike Doocy of KDFW Fox 4 Sports, who was the master of ceremony for the event (these pictures are attached). Mike also hosts his own race, The Dash for Dignity, which I'll always remember was the very first race I ever ran back in October of 2009. I ran the event to prepare for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure which my younger son and I ran for Gilda's Club of North Texas, which I am a member of, and where I sometimes train using the CFFL facility located in the club, as well as the yoga class, and other great programs.
Preparing for the race:
The start and finish lines for the race were set up in the middle of a beautiful shopping center (the merchants there gave out some great discounts as well as some goodies in the registration bag). There was a turn around at about half way through the course which was marked by a cone. I had a good week of training leading up to the race, and was able to elevate the treadmill to 1 which I figured would help me negotiate the hills on the course. I was determined not to walk this time. As I stood a few rows back from the start line, the wind started blowing back against my face so strongly that I had to take my cap off. I thought it might fly off, which would've been pretty embarrassing. The gun went off, and I started the race.
The race:
I kept a steady pace this time. I told myself "no walking" so when I got a little tired I slowed down for a bit then then went back to my pace. I was still pretty far away from the turnaround when I saw the lead runner, a young man already on his way back (who by the way finished with an amazing time of 14:46.1). I said to myself that I'd better pick it up if I wanted to finish with a good time. I finally made it to the turnaround and saw a lot of people behind me which inspired me to just kept running, and not let too many racers pass me up.
Now the wind was at my back, pushing me, and it felt great. On my way to the finish line, there was one hill, so I had to slow down a bit. At my last few races, I had to walk when confronted with a hill, but not this time. I made my way back to the shopping mall area, and knew that the finish line was close. I started going all out, determined to to have a good finishing time. Unfortunately I miss-judged the location of the finish line, and had to push myself even further to get around an unexpected turn leading to the final straight away to the finish. I somehow got my strength together, and was able to finish with my personal best time of 25:33.6.
A new best time... Or was it?
A new best time! I was pumped! After I caught my breath and could breath normal again, I found out that some joker had moved the turnaround cone before the race. One of the racers that had a watch timer said the race was only 2.89 miles. I was disappointed. It still goes in the records as an official race, but I will not count this as my personal best time since it wasn't a true 5k race. My personal best stands at 26:01 at the Dash on Greenville. One day, I'm going to top that time.
My line in 55 - 59 male category:
Place : 2/4
Bib No. : 259
Time : 25:33:6
Pace : 8.14
Overall Place : 83/277
Overall Men : 65/177
Regards,
Teddy
No comments:
Post a Comment