Today was the fourth time I ran my towns 5k... second time doing it barefoot. I've progressed from nearly 25 minutes my first year (and the very first 5k I ran since high school) down to 20:05 last year barefoot. 20 minutes was something I wasnt sure if I'd ever see again, but after being within seconds of it last year, I knew this year would be it. I ran 2 5k's earlier this year, below freezing, minishod, and was in the 21-22 minute range but was struggling with form and foot issues with the shoes, besides it being cold. So this is probably the only barefoot 5k I'll do this year.
Its a small town, and typically only about 3 dozen or so show up for the race, half of which is the local school crosscountry team. Well they weren't there this year, and bad weather probably reduced the numbers down a few more. It stormed all night, and was still raining at race time. It did slow down to a mist/sprinkle though, and was actually quite pleasant. First time racing in the rain since my high school days. Well only about a dozen or so people showed up, and the one younger kid that beat me last year by a few seconds wasnt there. For the first time ever in a race, I really didnt have any competition. At the finish line the next person behind me wasnt even in sight (~2 minutes). But I still managed to push myself to my goal, and ran the thing in 19:26 and won my first race ever!
Had to have some kind of shot of the race so I snapped a pic of the finish line after I was finished. That right there is where I do most of my running (pretty boring, but at least I'm off the narrow 55mph roads around there).
My first cash award! Its not much, but we all got to start somewhere. I think I am going to frame that paper and 20 bucks! (but with the small turnout I felt guilty taking even that).
Its a small town, and typically only about 3 dozen or so show up for the race, half of which is the local school crosscountry team. Well they weren't there this year, and bad weather probably reduced the numbers down a few more. It stormed all night, and was still raining at race time. It did slow down to a mist/sprinkle though, and was actually quite pleasant. First time racing in the rain since my high school days. Well only about a dozen or so people showed up, and the one younger kid that beat me last year by a few seconds wasnt there. For the first time ever in a race, I really didnt have any competition. At the finish line the next person behind me wasnt even in sight (~2 minutes). But I still managed to push myself to my goal, and ran the thing in 19:26 and won my first race ever!
Had to have some kind of shot of the race so I snapped a pic of the finish line after I was finished. That right there is where I do most of my running (pretty boring, but at least I'm off the narrow 55mph roads around there).
My first cash award! Its not much, but we all got to start somewhere. I think I am going to frame that paper and 20 bucks! (but with the small turnout I felt guilty taking even that).