Race Recap

12th Annual Celebrate Freedom 5K Run - July 4, 2011

A great small run in Jay, Fl.  It was put on by one of the area's premier runners, Matt Dobson.  This was my first time running the race.  I thought, what a great way to start the celebration for the 4th of July.  According to the newspaper, they had a record turnout this year.  Just short of 100 runners.

The sky was overcast, so that keep the sun hidden.  Made for some extra humidity, but less direct heat.  I was drenched from head to toe after my mile warm-up.  I felt pretty good at the start of the race.  I had looked around and to my surprise, there seemed to be a number of runners in my age group.  That just made me want to have a good run all the more.  Started off at the gun a bit too fast.  At the one mile point, my pace was around 7:30.  I'm not there yet in my come back, so I back down a bit.  I was running neck and neck with this runner for the first mile and a half.  I wasn't sure exactly how old he was but suspected he was younger then me.  About the 2 miles point, he started to move ahead of me.  I felt good, but didn't want to burn out, so I held back.  I did manage to catch another runner that I thought was probably in my age group.  At the 3 mile point, I was still feeling good and was able to keep my pace up.  I wasn't, however, able to catch the runner I had paced in the beginning.

The Finish!

I crossed the finish line at 25.33.  Not a bad time, but not my best.  It's hard to get back to your old pace when the heat is so bad.  Note to self, no injuries in the winter or spring.  That means summer for the recovery.  NOT GOOD! LOL

The awards were pretty decent for a small race.  Trophies for the bigs guys and medals for all AG winners.  Congrats to a my runner friends that took home awards!  I ended up taking 2nd in my AG.  Which btw, was the largest AG.  You know what's funny though?  The guy I thought was younger then me?  Well, he just turned 50 a few days before the race and he took 1st in my AG.  The other guy?  The one I did catch and pass?  Well, he ended up being younger then me!  Go figure!

I really enjoyed this race and will definitely be back again next year.  Next time, I'll try not to pay any attention to the other 'old' runners and just run my race!  LOL