Groves Knights of Columbus 5k Race Recap

I planned this race as a substitute for a tempo run. It was cheap and only about ten minutes away, so I couldn't pass up the opportunity to run with the energy of other people carrying me instead of on my own in the same route in my neighborhood where people STILL look at me like I'm crazy after being on those streets almost every day for a year.
I had been doing weekly 20 minute tempos for about a month at this point and was finally feeling better about my endurance. The week before I ran a very hot 5k in 22:18-good for 4th overall and 1st female being that it was a tiny race. I had no time goal for this one.
I woke up and prepared my usual; toast, peanut butter, and banana and coffee. It was blustery and cold and my sleeping family made it very difficult to pry myself off the couch and head outside. Due to the early hour, I got to the race in about 8 minutes and had an hour to warm up, sit in the car, try not to look too awkward by myself, and pee about 4 times. The small group of runners finally lined up at 8. We all took off into a decent headwind. This particular race was offering a free pair of shoes to the overall male and female winners. I didn't recognize anyone so I thought I had a good shot. However, at the start I saw one young girl dart about 100 feet ahead of me.
I figured she would slow down at the first mile, but she never did. I accepted that I would have to chase her down. A new tactic for me. I am unfamiliar with the art of racing, but that is why I am going to jump into as many local races as I can. Around the 2.5 mark, I catch up to her. Foolishly, I try to pass her there. I am not sure where the finish line is, but I figure it can't be much longer. So, I surge, she surges, I surge. Then finally I let her go. I am tired now, and still can't see the finish. I see the girl take off again, and then the finish comes into view. A group of guys pass me and I kick (slowly) to the finish, leaving them close behind.

                           (My lovely post-run gag face)

2nd overall female 1st age group

I was excited to see the clock was at 21:00 when it came into view. I ended up with a finish of 21:28-a new pr. I hope to cut that down further this winter and spring, but I was delighted that it came more easily than I expected. I was focused on racing, not the time. It's a fun way to run.
I stuck around for the awards and tried not to feel awkward since this was my first time to be at a race solo. Our local running community is so warm and friendly that I ended up chatting most of the time.
I headed home, excited to tell my husband about my tiny experience with 'racing', and to get ready for a fun day in Houston with our family BFF's Shanna, Jeremy, and Jody.
We spend a couple hours holed up in the Black Lab drinking pints, eating English comfort foods, and telling stories. It was one of the best days I had in a while.

Why I'm born again and RunGirl 13.1

I am starting this fresh new blog because the past year has brought so many changes and shifts in my life's direction that I felt it was necessary to start over.
In the last year and a half I have become a runner. In August of 2012 I joined Orange County Fitness bootcamp. It was (then) predominantly female, in a parking lot, and hard as hell. It still is. But the founder, Kim Faulkner, was/is so encouraging and supportive and bad ass that I quickly resolved to be as dedicated as she and the other women in my class were.
This was my catalyst.
It started with getting in shape and evolved into a desire to run fast. Suddenly, my free time is spent racing and long running for fun instead of seeking out the coolest places to catch a buzz with my husband in an attempt to reclaim a bit of the young and free feelings of our early courtship. The satisfaction and space I have found during my solo and group runs is so deep that I feel like the 2011 me has shed her alcohol and fried food soaked skin and become a different form of person.  This year has also seen life long relationships run their course and dissipate into a wisp of decades old memories. While that is not a negative thing- it happens-it's a marked change in the cast of characters in my life.

Spiritually, I am as studious as ever. That means sporadically but with unfaltering enthusiasm. I chip away at my understanding of my origins and my destiny each week at mass (well, mostly each week), at CCD teaching my preschoolers the basics ( we are on the same level most of the time), and every Thursday with a woman named Lamore who studies the bible with me from the perspective of a Jehovah's Witness. We've been at it about a year and a half, maybe two. I love her.

This is why I feel compelled to approach this blog from the angle of a person who has been born again. I'm still me, but I can't relate to the entries from my old blog as quickly as I used to be able to...So here is a new space I am dedicating to all things running and living. I will recap the races I've done, document the training I do, and chronicle everything of interest in between. I'm still learning how to train and race and I know I take a ton of advice from other online sources. My hope is that eventually I can offer some reassurance to nervous first time racers or interesting training tips to someone learning how to get into a training routine.

On my agenda this weekend is the RunGirl half marathon and relay race. It will be my second half marathon. I ran my first half marathon, the Gusher Marathon, half marathon, and 5k, last March. It was my second race ever. I had run my first race ever, the Mardi Gras 5k, the month before. I was underprepared, had only ever run as far as 7 miles once, and was both terrified and way too confident. I figured it would just feel the way six miles feels. Twice. Mercifully, my husband agreed to run it by my side and he paced me to finish comfortably in 1:57.
Since then I've been doing long runs regularly every week. I ran through the hot sweltering Southeast Texas summer and became familiar with how 10 milers feel. Nevertheless, I am very nervous. I will be running alone, I won't have my pacer, and I'm not sure how it feels to actually push a pace in a racing environment of so many miles. However, in order to race future half marathons and perform at my best, I need the experience of another 13.1 under my belt. I know I sound like a giant baby. I have runner friends who pop up on my Facebook newsfeed with updates about half marathons regularly. I know it's generally viewed as a totally doable distance. I'm just too much of a newbie and a control freak to relax into the experience and just let it flow. However, I am going to pretend that is what I'm doing.
I must now go eat and rest vigorously. Here's to feeling the most alive, as often as possible.

All the Time