Though I'm not there yet, I think I'm gradually getting there. I'm soooo impatient which causes setbacks off and on with my running. But I ran fairly easy all week and took my usual rest on Friday in order to participate in the Fiesta of Five Flags race in Pensacola on Saturday. We decided to run the 5k this year instead of the 10k.
We had to get up around 4:00 in order to get dressed and drive to Pensacola. Actually, having to catch the bus prompted us to leave earlier as they stopped running them by a certain time in order to assure everyone getting to the starting line to run on time. There were close to 700 runners that needed transporting to both lines. We timed it perfectly. I got butterflies for some reason. When I think I've conquered them, they fly back in. But these are good because it helps me to be on my toes and run "through" them. They're usually gone when I begin running.
I bumped into a friend of ours when I picked up our packets. He was about to get on the bus heading up to the 10k start. Mark K. looked great, rested and ready to run his usual fast race. Another friend, Leonard V., had had an accident in a race in New Orleans last weekend while on his bike. As a result he broke his collarbone in three places and broke several ribs. He had surgery and everything seems to be going well. Mark brought me up to speed on his progress. We really hate this happened to him. They run together every day and I know Mark is hating this as well. We're praying for you, Leonard, that you will recuperate quickly!
As many little stupid things popping up here and there lately, I am excited to report that not a single one of them nor anything new came up before, during OR after the race! I felt great running. There are a couple of little hills about midways in this course that are a little challenging. The first one is across the highway and the grade is "kinda" long. I was really dreading this. It's not so bad except that it's not something you can hold your breath and get over quickly. Every year I've run this race, this part seems to get me and it has a kind of "hold" on me. The 10k race eventually catches up to the 5k start and runs the 5k course to the finish. I add this because all runners run this part of the course. I did a lot of talking to myself and when I approached this area I assured myself that it wasn't as bad as I remembered. So I straightened up, turned my iPod up and accepted that it might be a "little" tough but nothing I couldn't handle. I made it MUCH easier than I ever have. Then shortly after this hill, another one is around the corner. It's not long at all but steep nevertheless. It always has me struggling. It continues to live up to its name BUT...again...I took it in stride, shook it off and ran as hard as I could. Having run this course before, I knew the easiest was ahead. The last almost mile is basically downhill and flat. You can really make up some time here and it's at the end! As my Garmin showed me afterward, this little stretch did slow me down some but not as much as it could have. I was excited to know that I had laughed in the face of this challenge and kept going.
When it was all said and done I ended with a good time. I'd gained weight recently and knew it would play a part in my running speed but this year I actually shaved off 21 seconds from last year. If only I had the weight I did last year. I may have ended with a 5k PR. Oh, well. That's a goal for next year.
Kent's racewalking is really improving! I can't tell you how hard it is to racewalk. It is NOT walking. There are a lot of rules going on with this where when you run, you just run. This group started 2 minutes after the 5k runners left out. There were some fierce racewalkers out there this time. There were 67 of them; all in the 5k. When the first one crossed the line I was shocked to see 33:05! That's fast!! I was so excited to see Kent coming in. He looked good and strong. He finished his best RW so far.
To win an award was actually not in my thinking. I just ran as best as I could. With that in mind, I wondered how far down in my age group I fell. So I went to the trailer to check the results. Going down the list, I see my name. I was 4th in my age group. That was okay because I ran my best and I accepted that. Then I got to looking to see how far away the 3rd place runner was and there wasn't one. There wasn't even a 1st place runner. What's going on??? How could I be 4th and there be no 1st, 2nd, or 3rd? Looking at my name again I noticed something VERY important...I was listed as a male!! Lord, this happened to me last year! For some weird reason, they look at my name and classify me as a male without even looking at my registration form. This makes me so nervous because they don't seem to be in a hurry and I'm anxious to KNOW...did I make GrandMasters, 1st place...what?? What if they don't get the change in time and they present the GM award to someone else?? Here come those butterflies again! I went up to the guy with the clipboard to be sure that the correction was going to be made in time for the awards as they had announced the presentation was to begin in 2 minutes. I explained why I was asking so as not to annoy him but he was gracious and understood and told me that everything has been taken care of. Now my next issue was: what if someone else had an error in my age group and I wasn't going to place at all...again. I'm getting excited about noooottthhiiiing!
Well, as you can see, I was quite antsy. Then the awards began with the overall winners. My friend, Mark K., that I mentioned earlier is a super fast runner. He came in second overall in the 10k shortly behind the first place runner. It was a close race. His name was called out for the Masters Award. We were excited for him. Then they got to the Grand Masters awards and I heard my name called out; I was soooo excited!! Kent, also, got 1st place in his age group. Having so many competitors than any other race he'd done, this was quite an accomplishment, too. We all three came away winners. It was a great day!!
Overall Winners: Masters & Grand Masters. Hey, who looks better? Really...
Winning couple! 
Our awards
A close-up of the Grand Masters Award. All results can be found at the Pensacola Runners website. Thanks for enduring this long post. You're all my friends and I'm thankful for each and every one of you. Your comments to us when you've read my blog means a lot to us. We love you! And, don't forget to set YOUR goals and Run 4 it!
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