Too Cold to Hold 5K and 15K

This week I chose to run in one of Run-On's biggest races of the year, and my 1st 15K race ever, the Too Cold to Hold 5K and 15K. The event took place on Sunday, January 23, 2011 at Norbuck Park, White Rock Lake, Dallas, Texas. The race benefited the Protective Animal League, which is a great cause. There were many great sponsors that came out in support including Cooper Fitness Center, who awarded gifts at the awards ceremony, Koala Health and Wellness, Jason's Deli, AAA Texas, Two Men and a Truck, and Jerry Glover and the Jerry Glover Photography team, who took beautiful race photos. He is the best photographer in running. I took a picture of his team, which I will put on my blog, and talked with other runners as they arrived to register for the chilly morning race.   Because this was such a cold race morning, Run-On! had heaters at different locations in the sponsor area. Since this was my first 15K attempt, I decided that this race would be all about finding the right pace. On January 4th I started to attend the speed development class at Run-On!, which I hope will improve my running. So far the training has been very useful, and has motivated me to work harder than ever. My coach, Dan Hagelberg, who is the manager of the Richardson location, helped me decide on a finishing goal of 1:30:00.   I started about 15 rows back for this race. I just ran two 10K races recently, so I knew that I just had to mentally add another 5K to finish this race. I didn't want to start out too fast and tire out early, so I didn't push as hard as usual for the first mile. As I hit the first mile marker, my time was 8:40. I reached the 2 mile marker in a time of 17:47 (9:06/m), and the 3rd mile in 26:54 (9:07/m). I kept looking at my GPS watch, just like coach Dan told me, to make sure I was on the correct pace. I got to mile 4 in 36:06 (9:11/m), and mile 5 in 45:30 (9:24).   There were a few small hills, but for the most part, it was a fairly flat race course. Finally, I reached the turnaround, and was happy to see that there were still quite a few runners behind me. I felt pretty good at this point, and just kept running the best I could. I reached the 6th mile marker in 54:34 (9:03/m), and then began to slow down, reaching the 7th mile in 1:03:53 (9:19/m). I arrived at the 8th mile in the time of 1:13:23 (9:29/m), just under my goal pace time. At this point runners started to pass me up, but I just ran my race.   I got to mile 9 in 1:22:58 (9:35/m), and it took me 4:09 to run the last .3 miles to the finish line, completing my first 15K race in the time of 1:27:08. It was great to be able to finish under my target goal. I ran the first 5K in 28:12, the second in 28:55, and the third in 30:01. There were 659 15K finishers and 605 5K finishers. I talked to people after the race and they congratulated me on my first 15K finish. I won a prize from Cooper Fitness Center, and took more pictures, including one with the Hooter girls who were serving the refreshments.   You can view the results here. You can view some pictures here.   Place   Overall Place   Bib   Rank   5K Split   Rank   10K Split   Rank   Finish    Pace  9/18       301/659       242    259    28:12:29   275     57:07:72    300   1:27:08   9:21/m I run to raise awareness for prostate cancer and to benefit my community. www.runningforacause.tumblr.com