Yesterday was the Run for Justice 5k. There wasn't enough parking when I got there so I had to walk about half a mile to check in. Then back to my car to drop off my t-shirt. I probably should have taken off the long sleeve shirt I was wearing as a base layer, but I was stupid. Back to the start to warm up and try to meet some lawyers. They seemed to congregate in groups by firm and not let anyone in.
They announced the start of the race and walked us a half a mile to the line. Wish I'd known that in advance, I would have gone over there early. Luckily, most of the walkers, doggers, and strollers went to the back of the pack so I didn't have to dodge too many people to get to an open space to run. I'll admit my competitive spirit kicked in at the beginning and I pushed a little hard to keep up with some folks. Finally got control again about half a mile in and found my stride. I picked two people to try to keep up with who seemed to be about my speed. Unfortunately I lost one of them after the first big hill. It was ungodly steep so I slowed at the top to recuperate a bit. One of the people I was marking did the same, the other held pace and disappeared around a turn. About the 1 mile mark, my legs were back so I sped back up to what felt like my desired pace. I dropped the other person I marked, so I picked 2 more.
The second mile was pretty calm. I had to make sure I wasn't plodding. One of the people I marked after the hill started to fall away about 1.5 miles in, so I had to pick another person. I was also hot by then. The long sleeve shirt and the wool socks were great at 7am when I was getting ready but too much after more than a mile of running in the morning sun. Pulled my sleeves up as high as I could and kept going. Was pretty much in mindless running mode by that point. If I hadn't been trying to keep up with people, I probably would have slowed down.
Mile three started with a climb. I half expected another really steep one, but it was just a gradual uphill. Made me glad I'd started running the hill in my neighborhood over the last two weeks. Kept my pace pretty well and passed one of my marks. Passed a few other people on the downhill as we came to the end. Made myself speed up when I saw the cone for the 3 mile. I was trying to pass two people, but one of them apparently decided to stay ahead of me. When I saw the time was 28 minutes as I got close, I was actually disappointed since my only real goal for the run was sub 28.
Consensus on the course was that it was hilly. I only remember the two hills. However, I'll listen to the people who said it was hilly. My next 5k is the same course as my first one so that will be a better indicator of my improvement over the last few weeks.
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