Also known as the race that boosted my confidence.
I certainly didn’t run as fast as I have in years past, but I was extremely proud of my showing, despite my lack of running lately.
As per usual, I started out with my normal pre-race fuel of coffee, toast and peanut butter. The race was in downtown Providence at 11:15, so we left my parents house around 9:30. Of course, the traffic was next to nothing, so we arrived at the Providence Place Mall with more than an hour to kill.
The weather was near perfect for a race. It was warm in the sun, but the shade was aplenty on the route and the breeze on the river was refreshing. The route was different this year although still starting and finishing on that darn hill on Francis Street.
The first mile I spent with my mom, at around a 9:45ish pace. At around the 1.5 mile mark I broke away and was just going at a nice, relaxing pace. Usually on 5k’s I like to push myself, but so as not to risk any injury, I decided that this was a race I was going to take easier. But my unspoken goal was just not to stop. And I didn’t.
The three miles just seemed to fly by and before I knew it, the uphill to the finish line was in front of me. I put my head down, leaned forward, lengthened my stride and I burst up Francis Street. I was weaving in and out of people and when I got to the top, I had enough energy to burst through the last .1 miles.
Stats
Time: 30:47
Pace: 9:55
Division: 501/1419
Overall: 2184/4444
Yeah, not my fastest, but I couldn’t be happier with how this race turned out. This was my fifth year running and I look forward to many more years.
Is there a race that you like to run every year? This, along with the Saint Pat’s 5k are the races I like to run.
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
a race that starts at 11 a.m…that sure does sound nice! especially this time of the year. so cool that it’s a tradition for you! happy to hear you had a good race that boosted your running spirits!
I hate races that start after 8 AM! #earlybird
The worst was one I did last October that started at noon. And it was 82*! My new favorite race is the Pell Bridge run in Newport, RI; it starts at 6:30AM in the middle of November.
Nice work! It’s so great that this one was a positive run and made you keen for more.