the kitchen run 5k: 19:30.2

i recently opted to participate in a local 5k event. three of my co-workers were planning to participate and i was thinking it would be cool to go down on race day and get some photos and share some encouragement. it turned out that i had some fresh legs coming into race day so i decided it would be a good opportunity to test my 5k fitness.

scott went along to capture some images and provide support. he had participated in the "republic may day 5k" the week before so he decided not to run this one.

coming into the race i had decided not to wear my garmin and not to obsess about my pace. i was thinking if i stayed smooth and consistent i might be in good enough fitness to get in under 19 minutes.

the event had a bit of a strange start. i lined up with the front runners and we all were standing about 10 feet off of the start line. i assumed we were waiting for someone to encourage us to take our mark. the race was started without any instruction to take our mark, thus we all started 10 feet behind the line. i got the legs rolling and then committed to running my own pace. when my heart rate got up there i had that moment of discomfort that usually produces a thought along the lines of: what are you doing - just step out of this thing. i put the thought in check and focused on relaxing and finding a sustainable rhythm.

steve and jeff

one highlight of the event was running on commercial street in front of "the missouri hotel". "the missouri hotel" is a housing program operated by "the kitchen". the residents were out in front of the building and provided some awesome encouragement for those participating in the event.

i was wearing my stopwatch and was hoping to see my 1 mile split. i missed it. i did notice the 2 mile mark. i came past it just a touch under 13 minutes. i was hoping to see a little bit faster of a time but at least i was not feeling overly fatigued. i was feeling strong enough to try and find a faster gear for the last mile, so i picked it up a bit.

the finishing time was 19:30.2 (6:17 average). this was my fastest 5k as rob-the-runner (the high school rob-the-racer ran 16:36). i was a little disappointed. i would like to be running this distance sub-19. maybe in the fall i will give a 5k another go and hit that sub-19. in retrospect, it appears that i ran a pretty strong last mile (i feel good about that).

dwight and kayleigh

jeff

steve

pam

after i finished, i was able to head back and run a half-mile with my co-workers (kerre, leslie, and kristen). i really enjoyed that. it was exciting to see kerre and leslie finish their first 5k event.

the food and fellowship after the event was fun. we all hung out for the announcement of the awards to find out if i had placed in my age division (35-39). they announced 3rd place and his time was slower than mine. they announced 2nd place and his time was slower than mine. wow - i started heading up thinking i had won my age division. well - they skipped me. we worked out the details after the announcements and reportedly something is going to be sent to me in the mail for getting 2nd in my age division.

i finished 16th out of 578 finishers and 2nd out of 19 35-39 year-old males. results: here. one of my funner 5k experiences. thanks to scott for the photos and the support.