Run for Freedom

Despite the melodramatic name for this race, it is actually a fairly low-key race run in my hometown that is about a mile from my house. Last year, I ran this race and was able to break 17 minutes for the first time in my life and place 3rd overall in the race. This year, I didn't know exactly what to expect, but I told my wife to make sure that if she wanted to see me finish, she shouldn't get there any later than 8:16:20 CST. So I guess I did have a goal.

I did about 2 miles warm-up prior to the race, and to be honest, I didn't feel all that great. I assumed it was just normal raceday nervousness. For some reason, I turn into a hypocondriac on raceday. Every stomach grumble is the flu and every sore muscle is a strain or a tear. By the time the gun went off, I was fairly certain that despite all my medical problems, I would be fine to run. I noticed before the race that they had the course record up, which just so happened to be the winning time from last year, since this is only the second year of the race. 16:41. I wasn't sure if I would own the course record after the race, but I did know that the winner would have to run faster than that this to win year.

It was extremely humid at the start of the race but luckily it was probably only in the 70's so while the weather wasn't ideal, it wasn't too bad either. The gun went off and we were off. It was me and a few other guys at the start, and by about the half-mile mark, I took the lead. I could feel a few other guys on my shoulder, but they never really tried to take the lead from me. I came through the first mile around 5:12.

I started feeling it a little bit during the second mile, but at no point during the race did my legs start to lock up. I have run a 4 and a 5 mile race so far this year, and this was the first time all year, that I've felt like my speed could actually somewhat match my endurance. In the past race, I felt strong throughout the entire race, but my legs just couldn't move fast enough. This time, I really felt like my legs were moving.

I pretty much owned the lead for the entire race. I missed the split at mile 2 (I think the lady was having a hard time figuring out how to read her digital watch). I came through mile 3 in 15:56 and pushed to the finish for a 16:26 final time. A 28 second PR.

This race did give me some confidence that I'm on the right track. I felt like my speed has improved a lot in the past month or so and my strength is at an all time high. I did about 5 miles after the race in total to bring the total for the day up to 10. Just in case I was getting a little too cocky after the race, I was forced to run the mile to my house after the race with the bouquet of flowers that went to the winner. They know how to keep a man humble.