Set a new PB for 5K this morning

I ran the 5K this morning. The race was sponsored by the Pirates Swim Club, the group that is giving swimming lessons to my grandson. I ran the 5K as my way of supporting my grandson in his swimming, and maybe as he gets older in his running.

A year ago I ran it in 48:02, and I considered that time a new PB since I'm running much slower due to blood clots I had two years ago. This time I finished the race in 47:28, just barely a new PB.

The course had a gradual downhill part followed by a gradual uphill part, and then down hill again. After a flat part, the course went uphill again to the finish. The change in elevation was only about 90 feet, but it seemed like a lot more due to the length of the climb. During the first part of the race, I didn't take any walking breaks, and my pace was 13+. During the middle part, my speed slowed down because of the uphill grade and my taking more walking breaks. During the rest of the middle part, I didn't take any walking breaks, but my speed went down to 15+ because I was getting tired, and my running speed stayed in that range until I reached the last part, which was uphill; I took more walking breaks during that part.

My mile splits are 14:28, 15:51, and 16:37. You can see the effects of the hills in slowing me down. The good news is that I didn't take very many walking breaks, indicating that my body is getting stronger. My legs, though, got awfully tired. I had hoped to pick up my pace during the last 100 yards and finish in a "blaze of glory". Instead, I walked and slowly jogged to the finish.

While waiting for the race to begin, I talked with a lady who was there with her daughter and her dog. I commented that they should pin a number on the dog. They laughed, but the dog didn't get her number.... During the race there were two girls walking in front of me, and I followed them for about half the course. As we started downhill again, I caught up with them and commented to them that they were walking almost as fast as I was running. One said, "Not anymore, you just passed us". I replied, "Yes, but it's downhill".

The top three runners (male and female) received ribbons and some prizes. The rest of us just got a big thank you from the organizers. After the ribbons were given out, prizes were given via tags drawn from a box. There were enough prizes that almost every runner got something. I received a backpack that will make a nice gift to a grandchild. When I walked up to get the backpack, the lady giving out the prizes told the group that I was the first to register this morning. After receiving the backpack, I said to her "First here and the last to finish" (there were some walkers behind me, though).

It was a fun race. I like small, local races because they are fun and I usually know people there. In this case, I didn't know anyone since the race was in a different town, but my grandson knows the race organizers, and my son knows some of the runners and walkers.

Oh yes, I'm so slow that even that dog beat me :)

This picture was taken by my wife as I crossed the finish line.