Lord, show me the weigh!: Day 76 - First 5k in a LONG time...

Oh good...Lewis and Clark pointing the way! Whew!

St. Patrick's Day 5k Race - Lewiston, Idaho

I was pretty nervous going into this 5k. It wasn't the distance - I've been doing 5 mile loops lately, and I've done two 1/2 marathons! But it's been awhile since I've "raced." I don't know this area very well at all - I've lived here less than a year, and so I'm really glad I went to the race location early (a bit TOO early), but it took me 10 min. to find. Glad I took a book and just listened to music while I read...helped calm my nerves!

I don't race anyone except myself - my goal for each race is to PR (Personal Record) for that distance, feel good after the race and feel good about what I did.

I can say that I accomplished all 3 goals yesterday.

Pinning on my number in a new spot.
I hate it when the bibs have to be pinned to my gut - so annoying!
Let's just attract MORE attention to my gut-roll, ok?!?!?

First goal: PR 35:20

My previous PR is really slow. I don't remember the seconds, but I know it was 38 minutes. That's because I've actually done very few 5k's. Once I got the 3.1 mile distance "down," I moved on to 10ks, and 1/2 marathons. So I wanted to do the 5k this time (there was an option for 10k as well) for a couple of reasons: 1 - because I was just getting back into it after a year and a half, and speed is NOT my thing; I need to improve in that area.

Second goal: Feel good AFTER the race

Did I push it TOO hard? Did I not push ENOUGH? Did I "jog smart" and not pull anything? I think it went well, and I ended strong - sprinted to the finish.

Final goal: reflection....could I have done anything differently?

The only "regrets" I had were 2: #1 - I should have hit the bathroom ONE LAST TIME! (I'm ALWAYS going to the bathroom!) And not because I "really had to go" or that there weren't bathrooms along the way, but it was on my mind a LOT. And being stubborn (for that PR) I did NOT want to go along the race! I didn't even go AFTER the race until I got home! Sheesh! But it was on my mind.

#2 - I set my Garmin watch up at the starting point, but for whatever reason, I hit the wrong button and didn't realize it until the end of mile 1. So I had to do some math to figure out what my first mile stats were. (Not really a big deal - the race was chipped.)