Redhook 5k!

Sunday was the Redhook 5k;  it's a local race that's put on by my favorite local running store, Runner's Alley, and is held at the Redhook Brewery on the Pease Tradeport.  It's a really fun, really organized race that has activities for the entire family, and beer afterwards for the adults.  Going into the race, I wanted to get close to where I was in the fall with a time around 22 minutes and change,  but I was secretly hoping to see 21 in the number!  I felt good after the 1/2 marathon the weekend before, and felt okay to race.  

  Going into the weekend, I wasn't feeling 100%, but not bad enough that I couldn't run.  Sunday morning's weather wasn't even that bad, it was warm with a breeze.

The race has a late start (around 11am), so at 10am, Max and I drove over to Pease to meet my parents- they nicely agreed to watch Max while I ran.  I am NOT driving in the picture above, we are parked!

After dropping Max off, I parked my car and met up with my friend Stephanie.  By this point in the day, the breeze seemed to have gone away and the temperatures were getting closer to the 80s.  We did a quick warm-up, and I drank an entire bottle of water afterwards- I was already hot and feeling dehydrated, not a good sign!  

Steph and I lined ourselves up towards the front (right behind an older, shirtless, very tan man with extremely short shorts), and got ready to go!  I knew Stephanie was going to do well, even though she hasn't been running very long, she's already picking up speed quickly!
The gun went off, and we started!  Like a rookie, I did my first mile WAY too fast, or too fast for me at least.  I did 6:40, this was the worst idea ever.  It was super hot by this point, and the course has minimal, if no shade.    I normally don't stop to get water during 5k races, but because I had pretty much used up all of my energy during the first mile, I had to stop at the water stop, and had to stand for a few seconds to catch my breath.  The second mile was a full minute slower at 7:55.  At this point, I knew i wasn't even going to be close to getting 22 minutes!  I was super overheated, and had to stop again at the 2.5 mile mark to sit down for a second.   I watched a guy in front of me pass out, and another kid running by, throw up on the course!
  Stephanie ran by, she was doing great!!  I followed behind her, and barely made it through the last mile in 9 minutes.  I crossed the finish line in 24:15, I was so bummed, but knew I had made a dumb mistake with the first mile :).  Stephanie did awesome, and to add to that, she ran the 5k in longish pants;  based on the heat, that's even more impressive!

   I was disappointed in my time, but not that hung up on it as just a few years ago, I would have been super excited to see 24  minutes for a 5k! I was more frustrated that I know I could have done better, and also know better than to start a race about 30 seconds faster per mile than I should have.

Overall, it was a really fun time w. Stephanie, and hopefully I will get to 21 minutes someday!