11/2/13 Puddle Jump 5K

I ran the 10K here, the first year they had it, 3 years ago.  The course was a half mile long and there were some other things that I did not care for so I did not rush to come back.  But now I am back, for the 5K and everything will be well organized.

Thankful for the indoor staging area.  It is very stormy out.  Colder than it has been and oh so windy.  Sideways rain off and on.  Fortunately the course is somewhat protected from wind gusts and it will not rain much while we are racing.

Amy is here to defend her title.  Terra shows up at the last minute.  Lonnie is here to run and win the 10K and he says that he will be running the 10K at tomorrow's Turn Back the Clock race.  I tell him that I am not racing tomorrow.

Start - Both races start at the same time.  The course goes about 30 feet before turning onto the paved trail, so it is a little crazy at first.  I yell at Terra to get out of my way....I hope she knows that I am joking.  Plenty of time to settle in to a good pace.

Mile 0.1 - Room to run as I wish.  Fun to see a 0.1 mile marker.  No, there is not one every tenth of a mile.

Mile 1 - 7:03 - faster than last week but it feels sustainable

Turnaround - Amy is first woman.  She will go on to win again.  Terra is right behind me, as are a couple of others.

Mile 2 - I can not hear anyone behind me and those ahead of me are just too far to try to reach.  I am holding pace as best I can but my stomach is starting to bother me.  I need to slow as I feel a combination side stitch and possible vomiting or worse about to happen.

Finish - I slowed some to keep things under control and quickly recover and feel fine after running.  3.06 on the GPS.  A slower finish time than last week, but a faster pace according to the GPS, due to the longer course.  Ghostmuster/Pumpkin Dash really must be a short course.

Chamber of Commerce races usually make for good raffle chances.  I do win, a large pizza.  TAG trophies is also a sponsor so we all get finisher's medals.  And there are trophies for the age group winners.   Amy and I make sure that we get a photo together, to share with our benefactors at Brooks Running.

That makes 8 races in 8 weeks.  A shame to miss the Turn Back the Clock race tomorrow.  My legs feel fine.....maybe I could go run the 5K tomorrow.........

22:22.5
6th place of 141
Race# 308
5K# 81
*****