A new PR!!!

Today was the Celtic Solstice 5 Miler in Baltimore. We've had friends do it in the past, but it's always conflicted with Cookie Day or other activities. This year though, we both signed up. Unfortunately, Stuart's foot was aching so it was just me and Erin making the drive up to Druid Hill Park at 6:30 this morning with Starbucks in hand, where we met up with the rest of her running crew. The race is in a gorgeous park in the middle of Baltimore -- we'll definitely make a day of it some time this spring to drive up just for a workout and lunch at the Inner Harbor.

But, gorgeous does not mean flat! I knew it was hilly going in, but still decided I wanted to definitely break 50min with a super ambitious goal of 45min. Erin, Kayla and Kim were shooting for a sub-40, while Nikki agreed to hang on to me as long as she could. By the time the first mile was over I knew I wasn't going to hit 45. Between the long long long hill and the starting line crowds, my first mile was a 10:40. Good for me, but not what I'd been aiming for. From there though, I just kept getting faster. Focusing on my breathing, my HR and the clock, I didn't even bother to count the number of people I passed. Definitely more than passed me, that's for sure!

The last mile was basically flat with a straight downhill final quarter mile to the finish. That mile alone was sub-9!! If only I could have done that for the first four miles! Official results are in and I posted a 47:34, which is a 9:31min/mile. A PR at the 5mile distance by over two minutes. Wahoo! I was a little sad at the finish line at first that I hadn't hit 45, but then realized this was the toughest 5-mile course I'd run and yet still the fastest time in the last five years. So, after re-thinking, I'm stoked.

Erin and I were talking in the car on the way home in between multiple stops in the ghetto to get gas and go to the bathroom. Somehow we've both come to love these noncompetitive group runs with other women -- whether it's with friends or my =PRR= group, and the results of those efforts are starting to reveal themselves on the race clock. Running with faster people does make you faster, especially if it's a mutually supportive environment rather than a competitive "I'm gonna kick your a$$" kind of thing. Becoming a coach, and knowing that I can encourage those who may be slower or newer to the sport has allowed me to understand that I'm not dragging down those who are faster than me. In a pay-it-forward kind of way, it's how it should be.