Siclovia 5K

Some days it just clicks. The cards fall into place. And everything is just gravy. 

Today was one of them.

I woke up to chilly temps (note: it was in the 90's yesterday so 50's felt like the arctic tundra) and bone chilling winds but was hoping that wouldn't slow me down too much. 

I was heading out to run the first ever Siclovia 5K and was pretty excited. I knew the route was flat and straight, actually the route I used to ride my bike home from work before I moved, and was hoping I would be able to best my previous 5K time of 32:36 from back on July 21. 

I was confident I could run faster but the fact that I ran 9 miles the previous morning was weighing in the back of my mind. I wasn't sure how my legs would feel. 

The turnout was quite small. I think the cold scared some people away. I was anticipating it to be one of the larger 5Ks I've attended but I think it ended up being the smallest one I've seen with only 258 participants. 

Can I just say here how crazy it is the turnout for 5Ks/10Ks/5-milers/etc here. I see people running in other cities that have hundreds of people just in their age group. For the fact that I live somewhere that has temps that make it possible to run year-round people just don't seem to be into it the way they are in other places. It's crazy! Siclovia (a day to play in the streets; running, cycling, skateboarding, anything but driving) is supposed to help get SA off our butts but seriously- 258 people. Geez, that's sad! Rant over. 

Anywho, my goal was to set a new PR and that was all I could think about. 

After a few pics in front of the Alamo...

What do you mean there's no basement

Sporting the green and black for the Eagles. Go Birds!

And a fun pre-run warm up...

Action shot...

This was so much fun!

I was ready to run...

Glad I remembered to smile!

And run I did! 

Mile 1: 9:29 

What? 9:29! I was feeling good so I said to myself just keep running as fast as you can and try to see if you can pull out another sub-10 minute mile.

Mile 2: 9:54

Close but I did it! Another sub-10 minute mile

Also, I should note that it was very cold. I am glad I brought tissues because my nose was running the entire time. Oh, and I was running into a 40mph head wind. Ok, probably not 40mph. Probably not even 10mph. But it was cold and it was making me work really hard. Thankfully after the turn around it was at my back but I was exhausted. I wasn't sure I had it in me to keep up my pace. But somehow, I did. 

Mile 3: 9:49

Hooray. I just had to keep pushing, just one more minute and I would be done.

Here I come...

Trying to smile for the camera...

I crossed the line at 30:53 but my chip time was 30:26 which was a 9:47 min/mile pace. Yeah, I was pretty thrilled. 2 minutes and 10 seconds better than my last 5K. There were tears. It felt great. I really love seeing my progress as my half marathon training continues. Speed work and long (and short) slow runs really have helped me be able to push myself on these shorter runs. And a nice, flat course didn't hurt either. 

Next 5K is October 28th and I would love to run it in under 30 minutes but that course is on a rocky, bumpy trail and it is hilly so I am not too sure I can pull it off. But you damn well know that's what I'll be shooting for!

“To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.”~ Steve Prefontaine