Raleigh Rocks Half-Marathon and 5k

I did it!! 

I finished my first 5k in The Racing Year (or TRY is it will henceforth be known). I ran it in 43:44 at an average pace of 14:06 minutes. I am so happy with that! I shaved two minutes off my normal pace (yes, I was "running" a 16 minute mile and no I'm not ashamed of that...ok, so maybe a little ashamed) and I was able to finish with a smile on my face (as opposed to the last race I ran...)  And I was able to run the whole thing! I had planned on run/walking, but I was able to mentally push myself to keep going. I've heard it said that running is a mental game, and I think I finally understand that now.

Any way, the morning was beautiful and the bands were rockin'! It was actually nice how the bands were set up. As soon as you were far enough away that you couldn't hear one, you could just start hearing the next. One band was even playing my jam - Buddy Holly by Weezer. And, as an added bonus, I was able to hear the birds singing their morning songs. It was actually very nice. I think I may have to run in the morning without the headphones more often. Not every time, mind you...

Matt was super supportive and thankfully Baby Girl slept almost the entire time! I was amazed that we were able to change her diaper, get her dressed and put her in the car seat without her waking up at all. Man, we must be real parents now! :)

So, for my next race in May, I plan on trying to shave another minute off my mile in addition to having a smile on my face at the finish line. :) I'm still looking for my May 5k, so if anyone is interested in running circles around me, let me know!