I hit the Greenwood Festival of Flowers 5k fun run this morning. Great turnout, with a solid crew of high school/college cross country types. I stayed well back of them at the starting line.
I was by myself as Hil had to work. The course was a true cross country course, with just a little bit of paved running, and a lot of tree running which presented the challenges of running over and around roots, holes, etc. It actually brought back some pretty good high school memories.
With no starting gun, we were to go on a blast from a bugler.
Unfortunately, rather than a trumpeting bugle, it came out as more of a "phhtttt..." So people started, and then they called us back. And then they did it again, with a more pronounced "phhtttt...." and we just ran. Sweet.
I was out in a first mile of 7:40. I was both excited and terrified. That's a pretty fast mile for me at this point, but I knew I'd probably pay for it. And I did. Big time.
We didn't have another split at any point through the race, but I knew I was struggling to keep my pace. I had originally wanted to try to maintain an 8:00 pace, but couldn't after going out that fast, and I was passed by a few people.
With about a quarter mile to go, I knew my 25:00 goal was out the window when we hit the only major hill on the course - and straight up we went. The nice part was nobody else was ready for the hill, and I was able to pass several of those who had passed me earlier. Then with about 250 yards to go I was able to stride it out and finish strong in 26:30.
Not a great time, but good effort and lots of fun. I'm definitely glad I went and it gave me a good feel for where my speed level is right now - slow, but not as slow as a month ago.
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