A few weeks ago, I ran my first 5K! My first “official” one, at least (I ran more than 5 km per day for 5 days in a row before actually running this race…). Brooke’s family has run in the Hannibal Cannibal for the past few years, a fundraiser for the local hospital that always takes place on the Saturday morning of Tom Sawyer Days, which is held around July 4th. This particular 5K is notable because of it’s “Lover’s Leap” climb, which is a steep 100 ft elevation that kinda sneaks up on you. I’d never tried this course before (obviously), so though I knew how difficult the HW-79 portion would be (another hill, but a bit slower in grade), yet I wasn’t sure how Lover’s Leap would go. I didn’t quite make it up to the top without stopping, but I made it further than I would have had I not been training. Jogging around our neighborhood here gave me a little practice with hills, but for next year, I’ll have a better idea of what to prep for.
Again, the Baumanns (Baumenn?) run this 5K frequently and Mallory and Diana both placed in their divisions (yay!). We’re all running a 5K in Colorado (Mallory’s doing a half marathon), so in some ways, this was a good trial run for us, or at least for those of us that have never actually run a 5K before…
Also, a brief aside, but I got a new fitness tracker in late June. The Samsung Gear Fit 2 has a built-in GPS function and barometer that I find particularly useful, as it’s able to keep track changes in elevation, as well as running times. For that race, my official time was 26:51 with an average pace of 8:39/mi. My Gear Fit 2 recorded 8:39/mi as well, though the distance was off because I started it before actually crossing the starting line. For the most part, I’ve been pleased with the performance of the tracker, though its battery life leaves something to be desired.
Overall, I placed 7th out of 18 in my age group, so I felt pretty good about that. A 27 min 5K is respectable, though I’d have to work quite a bit to beat the 19:48 winning time in my group… To get to the top 3 and win a medal, I need to shoot for 23:27, though, I’ll move up in age bracket next year where they actually ran a bit faster than those numbers this time around (ranging from 20:13 to 22:02 for the top 3). There probably won’t be a medal in my future for awhile, but I suppose that isn’t the point of running a 5K, eh?
Lastly, I should note that Brooke’s also planning on doing the 5K in Colorado, though she thinks she may have hurt her ankle and may not be able to actually run for it. The ankle’s on the mend, but while it’s been swollen, she hasn’t been able to go jogging all that much. Perhaps we’ll get her in the Cannibal in time for next year!