Mystic 5K AKA the 3.2 race!

Time: 20:12
Place: 3 overall women;
1st AG.
Pace: 6:20

This race was advertised as a 5k, but then at the race people started talking about it being a 3.2 race rather than a 5k. Big difference, people, for someone who is trying to break 20 min.

Anyhow, this will be a short race report.

Mile 1: 6:20 - managed to keep pace down, 2 women in front of me, could have passed them, but I held my pace down and kept my eye on the prize (sub 20). Felt great!

Mile 2: 6:14 - feeling great, great, great! Passing people left and right, 2 women still in front of me but I was on their heels.

Mile 3: 6: 32 - feeling great, and then all of a sudden I had vomit in my mouth (yes, I know!). I kept gagging. I felt great otherwise, breathing was fine, legs were happy. Darn! I slowed down, tried to vomit, couldn't do it, so started running again, swallowing in hopes of stopping the gagging.

.21: 5:51 pace - focused on not puking, but feeling great.
+++++

So, same result as last week, but, because of the longer course, the pace this week was 3 secs/mile faster than last week. My goal was to run a 6:20 pace, which would have been enough for a sub 20 assuming an extra .05, so I was where I wanted to be.

I talked a bit to the winners and some of the runners after the race and everyone concurred that the course was long. I was super careful to run tangents but that did not help. And it is not my Garmin, other people ran 3.25! In any case, I am happy about this race. Time for a 5K would have been 19:38, by the way! I'll make that official one of these races! I just need to find a time chipped, accurate race. For now, I have to figure out the vomiting issues! One runner told me that I need to run my first mile slower, so maybe I should try that. The thing is, I always have vomiting issues at the track, but never in tempos or races longer than 10 miles. It is so frustrating to feel great, I mean really great, comfortable breathing, no lactic acid accumulation (no post run soreness this week or last!), just the gagging and vomiting! GI system, just get the memo, will ya?

I won an hour sports massage, by the way! Very exciting. But more exciting was this little prize I got at the end of the race! Yes, no glamor shot here, this is how I look after working HARD, bulging veins on my forehead, sweat and salt on my face, love it, love it, love it!















And this is how I look when I lose my patience with Chris tryyyyyyyyyyyying to take a picture!Both Petru and I have the same expression: "Let's go, dad!" Funny!