Carey Twilight 5k

I'm a week late with this post, but I ran the Carey Twilight 5k last Saturday evening.  Due to some thunderstorms moving through the area, it was interesting to say the least.  The race itself was much bigger than I was expecting with 250-300 runners.  I got to the start later than I meant to and didn't have much time to warm-up.

The start was the best part of this race.  We waited at the start line, looking down the first hill, and saw nothing but dark clouds with lightning in the distance.  That was a first for me, despite having ran in 90+ races.  The race director stated that he thought we could get the race in and to find cover if it got too bad.  Okay.  Will do.  The nice thing about the weather was that it cooled everything down.

The downhill start was unfortunate because I really wanted to run negative splits in this one.  But, of course, I had no choice but to start fast.  We made it to the bottom of the hill, made a sharp left turn and entered a very cool park.  We did a lap around the park and hit the first mile maker in 7:00.  I was feeling pretty good and tried to keep up that pace.  The weather was getting worse and we saw some lightning strikes just outside of town.  I noticed this as I made my way around a pond.  Water+Lightning=Picking up the pace

The second mile wasn't far off the first, clocking in at 14:12.  There's not much to say about the course at this point.  It was nice running in the evening, but it was your typical 5k through a small town.  The line of people spraying hoses in the air along the course were nice.  It wasn't really necessary since we were getting some sprinkles anyway.  I tried to pick it up on the third mile but the course was mostly uphill at this point.  I passed some people and clocked in at a respectable 21:44.  Much better than the 23:00 I ran at my last 5k.  I waited around for the awards and was pleasantly surprised to receive a nice glass for placing second in my age group.

I've been looking for a half marathon to do because I want to make sure that the Air Force Half next month will be my 20th.  I looked at several races and decided on making the drive north to Michigan to get my 9th state.

Next race: Somerset Center Stampede Half Marathon- Somerset Center, MI