Anthem 5k

This morning kicked off the first leg of the Triple Crown! It was downtown, and I despise driving downtown by myself because I ALWAYS get lost, but I made it! There were all sorts of road closures because of bridge construction and because of the race, but I followed a line of cars and found a parking spot on the side of the street only a few blocks away from where I was meeting my friend and her boyfriend...score! I had not run this particular 5k before but was told that due to the amount of people running it, not to expect a PR because it's hard to get your pace since you're dodging so many people. So I didn't have very high expectations for the race. Waiting at the corner for my friend, I checked the weather and it said it was a cold 31 degrees...brrr! Although I really don't like being cold, I run so much better in it. I also never wear my running tights outside my neighborhood runs, but I was brave and wore them to a race (they are comfortable and fit well, so I decided to go for it)! I finally found my friend and we headed for the starting line. There were almost 6,000 people doing it and luckily they had the walkers and runners separated to help with the crowds. I have to say, the first mile and a half was tricky. You are constantly dodging people and hoping not to fall/trip in a pothole. I felt pretty good and felt I was going pretty fast. I rarely look at my running watch during a race because I feel it psychs me out. 3 miles goes pretty quickly, so next thing I know the race was over. I actually beat my best 5k time by slightly over a minute!! Woohoo! I finished in 24:50 which was about 8:00/mi pace. I totally wasn't expecting that, so I was definitely surprised! I grabbed my free banana and water and got out of there.

The next race (10k) is in a couple of weeks and my friend can't go do I'll be flying solo. Guess I'll have to take a selfie of just me (I very rarely ever do that).