Race Report: Runnin' to Beat The Blues 5K

Somewhere out there, there is a photo of me posing with this guy:

 

And, I'm kind of an sensitive asshole, I realize, but as someone who has

dealt with depression in the past, I find it a little

too "jokey" to have a mascot for the Mental Health Association 

in the first place, but one that is a fucking duck with a

band-aid on it's head (WTF?) 

and a life preserver around it's neck? Ugh.*

Why is there a picture of me with the giant duck? Because, I schooled some bitches and came in 2nd in my Age Group!

When I first signed up for this race, I was excited. Yayyyy a short race! Yayyyy the potential to PR. But fast forward to Tuesday when I was doing a tempo workout in the same park that hosted the race and all I could think about was... Fuuuuuuck. Why did I sign up to run a 5K? Ugh.

Thankfully, The KoB offered to keep me honest pace me and I showed up to the race, feeling pretty good body and leg-wise. But, just not in a good headspace.

The thing is... (and yes, I know I say this everytime after a 5K)... I just don't have the mental strength to push through the kind of intensity that a 5K calls for. I attribute that to becoming a runner as an adult (instead of running track in high school, etc), to never training for anything shorter than a half marathon, and to just being kind of a pansy in general. So, while the first mile feels FANTASTIC and I start dreaming of mile splits that start with a 6... by the 3rd mile I sound like I'm going into cardiac arrest and can barely manage to hang on to a split that starts with an 8.

I was disappointed with my finish (WHAT ELSE IS NEW?). But, as the day went on, the disappointment faded and I was just happy to have a PR! One day, I will commit to training for a 5K. I will get tougher and be able to push through the deathlike feelings of the 3rd mile. Until that day, I'm happy with chipping away at my times, little by little.

22:51 (Sub 23! Woo!).

Mile splits (according to my garmin, so a wee bit faster than reality because of tangents,etc):

Mile 1: 7:03

Mile 2: 7:06

Mile 3: 7:31

I think according to the KoB's watch, they were more like 7:10s the first couple of miles. 

Anyway... a PR is a PR and an age group award on top of that? Icing, baby.

*Nonetheless, when I realized that they were giving away stuffed ducks as prizes, I was super stoked! I waited around for the awards, only to be handed a medal. The stuffed animals were only for the kids. GODDAMMIT.