and the battle of the bands 5k is now over. it’s always so surprising to me how sometimes it can seem like you are waiting forever for an event, and then poof it’s done. that’s how i always feel about running races, well aside from half marathons, i can definitely feel the duration time during those races. but man, today was an early morning. and honestly, i wasn’t feeling the best when i woke up. which for me initially was a major bummer because i had a goal of averaging about a 9 minute pace – and with how i was feeling, i definitely didn’t think that would happen.
but to my surprise, once i started running i actually fell into a great groove. starting the race at lake concord park in casselberry, florida, it was a morning full of music and just plain fun. i absolutely loved the different bands that track shack brought out to have along the course. since i don’t run with headphones, the added distraction with music is always helpful. and i mean, how can you be upset with a live band?! it’s the best.
so, running strategy…i typically don’t plan on a “strategy” per se, however i knew what i wanted to accomplish but at the same time, didn’t want to burn myself out in the first mile. so, my plan was to start a little slower and then negative split the rest of the way. and to my surprise, i was really close to doing just that. my splits for the morning were 9:19.3, 9:01.9, 9:03.0 and then 1:08.9 to finish the race. so as you can see, the second mile was slightly quicker…but hey, i will take it. AND…i hit my goal for the morning. i was shooting for averaging around that 9 minute pace, and i came in finishing at an average of 9:02/mile. i was ecstatic, i even got 14th in my age group?! and keith even beat his time from the celebration of running 5k – so overall a great run for us! and i mean, how can you beat a small mini craft beer fest after a race?
a huge thank you to track shack for putting on (yet another) great race! cannot wait until the lake nona 5k in a few short weeks.
until next time
xoxo
kpmoments 