Bulldog Run 5K

I ran the Bulldog Run 5K on a chilly and windy Sunday morning. The temperature was hovering around 40° at the start of the race. I ran in compression socks, Oiselle shorts, O long sleeve shirt,  O singlet and a stocking hat.

Not very many of us signed up to run the 5K. Normally this race is run on Saturday morning. Which is the day of college homecoming football game. The race was moved to Sunday morning this year. The day after the football game. Part of the course was run in the football stadium parking lot. There was so much trash. It looked like someone tipped over a dumpster and all of the trash had rolled out of it.

When the starting gun went off, I was fourth. I was surprised that more people weren't up at the front. I did get passed by a tall guy heading down to the track to run a lap before running off college property. I was running steady by myself until the first mile. The volunteer called out "8:03" when  a man and woman and myself passed by. They ended up running away from me. I couldn't keep up with their fast pace. Soon after that, a college age girl ran beside me. At a point she started to pull away from me. I was able to catch back up and pass her. Once I passed her, I heard two college age males behind me talking to the girl I passed. They soon passed me.

The guys were running pretty fast. One of the two guys started slowing. I told myself to go after him. I was able to pull up behind him around the second mile mark. The volunteer said 17:03 when I ran by.  About half a block later, I was side by side with the second guy. I passed him and told myself to hurry up. On this stretch of street, the wind was blowing in our faces. I kept my head down and pushed through the wind. Turning a corner, the pair of volunteers encouraged me. A few seconds later, they were talking to the guy behind me. The guy asked, "How much farther?" He then asked the volunteer on the bike if he could have it. I knew that he was a few seconds behind me and that he probably wouldn't catch me.

Making the final right turn to the service drive that lead to the football stadium, I couldn't make my legs go any faster. Running onto the field, the soft, artificial surface slowed me down. It felt like I was running on a sponge. The clock read 25:xx as I was running on the football field. The finish line was at the 50 yard line  and I couldn't wait to get there. I finished in 26:55. I was 8th overall and the 3rd woman. It wasn't my fastest 5K on the year, but that is OK. Just running makes me happy.