Ok so I just got back from the 2nd empire 5k race here in Raleigh NC. It was an absolutely perfect day. About 80 degrees, zero humidity, not a cloud in the sky, and a slight breeze(10 Mph).

I got to the race and I could already tell that it was going to be a fast race. All of the local elites were there and a lot of the semi elite men and women showed up as well. I walked around a bit while my wife signed us up. That was nice because I got to talk with everyone from our local NCRC running club. That always helps to relax you before a big race.

We finally started to line up and I got nervous again. The start had a really narrow shoot and I had to start well back in the pack because so many of the elites had shown up. I run with my kids in a double jogging stroller so I am always nervous about starting in the crowds.

The whistle finally blew and I was able to traverse the gates just fine. I was following a low 16?s guy so I really didn?t have to worry much about the person in front of me going to slow. I had run a 1 mile race two weeks ago that was the same as the first mile of this race. That first mile is really fast so I knew that it was going to be hard to hold back and not get tempted to blow it out.

I was feeling pretty good at the half mile mark but I realized that I was in about 40th place and I was running a 5:50 pace. I couldn?t believe how fast this race really was! I tried to kick it in a bit on the downhill back to the 1st mile marker. I saw a few low 18s guys and GIRLS only a few yards in front of me and I realized I was just a little fast. I hit the first mile marker in 5:40.

The tough part of the race was still to come! Now I had to do a nice easy 30-40 foot climb up to the 2nd mile marker. However, with the stroller weighing over 100 pounds even the little hills will slow you down significantly.

My son was asleep by this point because it was right in the middle of his nap time. However, my younger daughter was wide awake and she started calling out mommy, mommy, mommy! I realized that the lady in front of me was wearing the exact same thing my wife was wearing and the lady really looked like my wife from behind. I decided that I was going to have to pass this lady in order to calm my daughter down.

Going up that hill I gave it everything I had. Typically hills like that will add about 1-2 minutes onto my mile time with the stroller. However, today I was able to clear that second mile in 6:26. I felt great when I reached the turn around point but I had already missed one of my goals. I had never run 2 miles in less than 12:00 minutes on a course that wasn?t all down hill. I did however, make it there in 12:07 which put me in perfect position to reach my ultimate goal. The sub 19:00 5K!

I knew what I had to do on that last mile and a tenth. I had to just dig in and blow the last mile out. I was pretty winded but at least I had a few water bottles with me to combat the low humidity. I actually drank almost 40 ounces of water in the race. It was hot and the low humidity was tough.

I finally made it to the top of the last hill. At this point you are about ½ mile from the finish. However, the finish line is totally visible from that point and it looks like it is only a 100 yards away. I really started to push hard with that half mile to go.

When I saw the quarter mile to go mark I decided to peek at my watch. I know it is bad luck but I just had to know. I couldn?t believe that I was only in the upper 17s. I knew that I finally had done it. I just had to avoid tripping over my own feet and I was going to make it. Over the last tenth I really gave it everything I had and when the crowd started cheering I really poured it on.

When I crossed the line I stopped my watch and collapsed in agony and joy! It read 18:43! I had annihilated almost one minute off of my time from 2 weeks ago and I had shaved 34 seconds off of my 5K PR! It felt great. I had finally accomplished a goal after 13 years of trying.

The race was extremely fast for everyone. Several of my friends set pr?s and the winner of the race posted a 14:42 on a certified and record eligible course. The women?s winner came in around 16:50 and the masters winner is 45 years old and he ran a sub 16:00 5k!

However, after doing all of that I would have traded it all for what happened next. My son said that he wanted to try the mile race again. I said sure let?s go for it. He has completed the mile before but it was hotter than he is used to.

He put one stipulation on it though. He wanted all of us to run as a family. So my wife who had to abandon her 5K race due to a stomach virus gutted it out and ran the mile with us. It was awesome to see. His little legs were just turning over at a ridiculous rate. I kept telling him to save some for the finish. Nothing seemed to slow him down though. He made it up the half mile hill in 6:16 and he really began picking up steam on the way down. He was in last place but nothing mattered to him except for crossing that finish line.

As we came up to the line the crowd was roaring. He had a mile wide smile on his face and he was really kicking it in now. I was so happy to see him cross the line that I forgot to look at his time. It didn?t really matter though he had really given it his all and he never gave up.

All in all it was a perfect day. I ended up with 3rd in my age group, a new PR, and a lasting memory of my son blowing out a mile in 11:56 2 weeks shy of his 4th birthday!


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Splits

mile 1 - 5:40
mile 2 - 6:26
mile 3 - 6:04
.1 mile - 0:30

1 mile 5:40
2 mile 12:07
3 mile 18:12
3.1 mile 18:43

http://This message has been edited by JasonsDrivingForce (edited Sep-30-2007).

http://This message has been edited by JasonsDrivingForce (edited Oct-01-2007).