Hi - 5 10k

Well, I haven't been running in the last 3 weeks or so, but Tami and I had a local 10k on the calendar today. I actually packed my running gear down to California thinking I'd get in a few runs last week, but I was clearly deluding myself. It had been raining all week, so I wasn't sure if we were still on or not, but Tami e-mailed last night to say she'd "put her big girl pants on" and run.

It was a small, very local race. We actually walked to the starting line. There were only 56 10k runners and 60 5k runners, so there was no lines at the porta-potties, plenty of food before and after, and a fair chance to win a prize. There may have been as many volunteers as runners.

It was a chilly morning, but the rain held off for the day. We started out quickly (no crowds making us start slowly) and ran together for the first couple miles. Tami and I split off after the first hill and I ended up trading leads with a couple girls most of the way. The course was a bit hilly, but there was a great downhill about mile 5 that really gave me a boost and I was able to catch a couple of runners near the end.

I hadn't really run a 10k since October of 2005, so I was pretty sure I could set a new best time. I came in at 53:24 cutting a decent chunk off my last 10k time. Pretty happy with it for how tired I was this morning. Tami actually placed second in her age group at 56:29 earning herself a silver medal.

There was a raffle afterwards with quite a few prizes, and I walked away with a $50 G.C. to a local grocery store. A new PR, and I turned a profit. Definitely worth getting out of bed early this Sunday.