Turkey Trot 5K - aka I Am A Rock Star!

I was not very excited about this race. I had a cold this week, and dragged my feet on some very easy and painfully slow yet challenging runs. Plus, yesterday my little man got a fever and ended up sleeping with me (actually on me). However, I did have a new playlist (Black Eyed Peas rock!) for this race, plus I knew I would have to run today anyway, so why not race?

I woke up at 6:30 so I could eat the usual - oatmeal, blueberries and coffee - early enough to prevent vomiting during the race. I ran the 3 miles to the race and met with Chris and Petru who took my race registration items and long sleeve shirt. I was super excited that we had timing chips, as I hate going to the front of the pack along with the real speedsters. I ended up running in shorts and tanktop and was very comfortable. We lined up, the gun went off, and only then did I realize that the race had a gun time (so not mat at the beginning). Darn!

Mile 1 - Holly molly what's up with the hills? Pace: 6:50
The race started with a gentle uphill, but I felt great. I did not want to start too fast, and settled to a 6:50, which I kept for the first mile. We had 3 hills during this mile, with one of them a little more than .25. I felt great!

Mile 2 - Let's get them women! Average pace: 6:40
I continued to feel great during this mile. I started looking for women in front of me, and worked on passing them. I had a fight or two, where I had to sprint for a little bit in order to pass, but I did it. Legs felt amazing! I was having fun! A little nausea started to set in, though.

Mile 3 - No puking until the finish line! Average pace: 6:34
Still feeling great, though nauseous. Around 2.5 I started feeling like I can vomit any minute. I briefly considered puking, but realized that I'd have to stop and my time would suffer. Instead, I told myself to just keep up the pace (6:38 at this point) and hope for the best. I gagged a couple of times, but managed to hold my breakfast down. We turned a corner around 2.9 mile and I decided to try a little sprint, while making deals with the Gods above about not puking until the end of the race. I succeeded! As soon as I crossed the finish line I gagged a couple of times but did not puke. I think the volunteers were happy about that!

One of my goals for this race was to suffer. I really did not meet this goal. I think without the vomiting worry I could have pushed more. I felt like I did a tough tempo run, but certainly I did not feel like I raced (aside from the puking feeling). My last 5K was in March 2008, and somehow my memory of 5ks was that they seem long and painful. This one did not. So I know I can do better, and I am really excited to try another one, maybe in December. For now, I am super proud with my PR.

Stats (by Garmin, official results not posted yet):
20:25; 6:34 pace - probably off by a few seconds given the guntime start....
Total miles: 9 @ 7:51