Bulldog Run 5K

I was thinking to myself before driving across town to run this 5K, "what am I doing?" I just finished running a 50K Saturday. Why am I running a 5K on Sunday morning? I thought why not do it? My legs actually felt pretty good and I knew I wasn't going to be running a PR. I decided to run it, have fun and see how I would do. Another reason I ran it was to help support a local college cross country team.

When the gun went off, I found myself near the back of the pack. I kept myself near a pack of ladies. The course took us down a lane to the track. We had to run a loop of the track, head back down the lane and out into the street. It was on the track where I found myself passing people. I really didn't expect to, but I was.

As we left college property, the mile marker wasn't too far away. When I crossed, a volunteer said 9:04. I thought it wasn't too bad. Up ahead of me was a guy and girl. I just focused on them and getting closer to them. Probably around 1.5 miles I ended up passing the girl. A short while after going by her, I passed the guy.

When I was by the two runners, I thought I was hearing footsteps close behind me. I didn't want to turn around and check, so I decided to try and hold my pace. I passed the second mile in 18 minutes. I was running consistent miles and that made me happy.

Just ahead of me was another guy. My goal was to catch him before entering the football stadium to finish the race. To me, it looked like his pace was slowing. I started getting closer to him with each step. With less then a half mile to go, I caught and passed him. I didn't know if he would try to run with me, but I didn't want to find out. The course had a final incline and I powered up it with some ease. The incline led to a downhill into the stadium. Once entering the stadium, we had to run a lap around the football field to finish. The artificial turf was soft and nice to run on. I finished the race in 28:20:48.

I was happy with the way I ran especially after running a 50K the day before. I was 27th out of 57 runners and placed second in my age group. I'm glad I that didn't skip this race. I did have fun and it was nice to support a local cross country team.