I like to type posts when they are fresh and hot off the press.   So I’m sitting here typing this as I’m on the way home..and posting it…a week later.  (no I don’t normally carry my laptop with me too races…I just came straight from random things and had it on me…).

I raced a local (sponsored by beer) 5k in Norfolk’s beautiful Botanical Gardens.  I actually was feeling pretty awful and was going to be happy with anything around 19:30.  I mean 19:30 was awesome for me at the beginning of the summer and now that is my settle pace?

Who am I?

I started off rather boxed in.  Everyone was flying and the course goes downhill a bit at first so it gave me a false sense of security.  But in all honestly, I felt terrible the entire race and it was mostly a blur.

Some high school boys started talking loudly as I passed them that this was only a training run for them (because it’s embarrassing when females pass you…duh).  I turned to them and said oh me too, I’ve already run 10 miles today so swallow that one.  I’ve got a pretty foul race mouth…oh I have no shame to egotistical high school males (or college males for that matter…or just meatheads). You see, now I’m focusing on getting miles in so I had already run 10 before this race.  (8 in the morning, 2 warmup).

Somehow, a lot of people missed a turn (that I didn’t) so I was finishing with people who were running quite  a bit slower then me.  When I finally picked up my head and saw the clock (not that I haven’t been using my GPS watch…first race ever to run with one) I noticed the clock was right around 19 minutes.  It was roughly 90 degrees, I had been training pretty hard the last couple of days and I felt like my body should (untapered…not fresh).

Got those crazy eyes.

I was shocked and crossed the finish line in 19:03.

My splits were:

5:38

6:10

6:20

Nice little positive split train I have rolling there.  As with most of my 5ks.

and who doesn’t love a good cool down beer.

Question for you: Do you positive or negative split races?

In a beautiful world with 80s hippie music, we would negative split every race.  But that doesn’t happen.  I have negative splitted 3 5k’s in my career.  I’m over it.