Breathless

On November 6th, I got up early in the morning, donned my running gear, and headed out to Fredericksburg for my very first competitive 5K race. The race was called the Live United 5K and was to benefit the United Way. I picked this course for its similarity in elevation change to the legs I will run during the relay in January. It was fairly cool on race morning....although standing there waiting for the race to begin....it certainly felt awfully cold! Temp was 39 degrees. During the race I kept pace with a small pack of people and tried to keep one female runner in my sights most of the race....she was wearing a t-shirt from the Marine Corp Marathon from the week before. I had no plans to keep up with her....just wanted to be able to always see her during the race. 2 miles in I had failed at that venture....she was well ahead of me. BUT.....I finished the race (all 3.1 miles) in 30 min and 57 seconds. I had in my head that I wanted to finish in under 30 minutes. So to be just 57 seconds over my goal.......I will take it for the first time out of the gate! When I crossed the finish line....my iPod was playing the song "Breathless" by the Corrs.....appropriate huh?

So here's how I finished:
Total time = 30 min 57 sec
Place = 35/50 runners overall; 17/27 female runners; 11/16 women under 40

You can review the race results here: http://www.racetimingunlimited.org/results/lu10rtu.htm