Grooved to Run

Saturday was the Rocket Run 5K in Spring Grove…

Start time was 8AM, so I was there about 45 minutes or so before that. That gave me enough time to sign in and pick up my race packet, including a t-shirt and my first “bib”:

I ended up being about half-way back in the pack of 104 runners at starting line. Honestly, I was so wired that I barely remember the beginning of the race and have no recollection of the gun going off. Before I knew it I had made the turn and heading up the first major hill. My plan was to burn some of my excitement by attacking the hill, and that’s exactly what I did.

By the time I made the next turn and began the slow descent down the other side of the hill, I was starting to get in my groove:

The rest of the race went far quicker than I anticipated. Before I knew it I was looping the Intermediate School parking lots, and then heading back for the last lap through the housing development. As I made the last turn to come back down the original hill, I tried to pick up the pace as much as I could. One last turn and I was crossing the finish line:

Official time was 30:27.04, putting me in 59th place out of 104 people. According to my Garmin Forerunner, I covered 3.22 miles in 30:46 (9:32/mi pace) with an average speed of 6.3 mph and a max of 9.1 mph. My 1K split times were: 5:43, 5:54, 6:06, 6:04, and 5:48.

So, I didn’t exactly exceed my goal, but I’m happy with the results. I went from barely being able to run a single block without wheezing and gasping for air, to being able to run a 5K in just a few months… and actually had fun doing it!

I’m not sure what’s next, but I think the Dover Double Creek 5K might be involved…