Miller Park Zoo Stampede Results

Not quite the run I had hoped for, but given the cold (34 degrees with a real feel of 25), the wind (20 mph), the snow (really should have taken sunglasses), and the hills (four, two pretty good ones), I'm happy with the 30:10 I finished with. That's a 9:44 pace, much faster than this time last year, and much better than the 5k from four months ago. I finished 9th out of 21 in my age group, and though I wanted sub-30, I'm not disappointed. Actually, I'm kind of eager to see what I can do with better conditions.

The first mile I heard the young lady call out 9:13 when I passed. I really just wanted to maintain that, and I think I did pretty good through mile 2. It was mile 3 that got me. The wind was in my face for much of that mile, and one of the tougher hills was during that mile, too. I know I slowed considerably. For not running outside for four months, I am very happy with how I handled the conditions and the course.

I'm even happier with my mindset. My legs were feeling sluggish during mile one, but I didn't dwell on it. I just kept my eyes on a target ahead and repeated my mantra over and over. Not long into mile two, I realized I was feeling pretty good, and I know I had a huge smile on my face at the thought of not being negative. Feeling positive served to energize me and I kept a solid pace through mile 2.

When I neared the finish line, I could see the clock. I thought it said 28 minutes and change. I kicked in a little more speed, hoping to finish at 29, but then, when I got closer, I realized it had been in the 29 and change. Bummer, but not bad considering.

Best of all was the big bear hug I got from Hubby when I met up with him after crossing the finish line. Seeing his grin and knowing how much he supports me in all my craziness makes the extra ten seconds for my run not matter all that much.

Comments

Big Clyde said…
Good job. That is a quick pace, as far as I'm concerned.
March 6, 2011 at 2:51 PM
JK said…
Hi BC! I hope you're feeling a lot better. Thanks for stopping by. The pace is coming along. It's been a year and a half in the works, starting out at 12 minute miles and gradually coming down.
March 6, 2011 at 5:21 PM
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