SPEEDSTAR!

Today I didn’t just wear my Speedstars, I WAS a Speedstar! I placed first in the 19-29 age division with a time of 23:35, which equates to 7:36 minute/miles. So close to my goal time of 7:30 minutes/mile. Even though I missed the mark by about 20 seconds I am VERY pleased!

The course was flat and the weather cooperated as best it could: only a light mist fell as we ran. The field was relatively small: 250 runners. The whole race I was at the tail end of the “fast pack.” I finished mile one in 7:19 and felt good, but kept repeating to myself that I needed to save a little for the end. And it worked! I had more energy at the end than I’ve had in previous races, I was able to pick up the pace into mile three and then again with a half mile left to run. And the last 100 yards I sprinted for a really strong finish.

Three other ladies finished in front of me, all older than I, all at around the 21 minute mark. To be really competitive that’s where I have to be. Which, after today’s race, I feel confident I can get there by the end of the summer, if not sooner.

My next race will be the half marathon. I’ve got a lot of training miles to run between now and then, but for today I just get to rest, relax and feel pretty stinkin’ good about how I did.