Latest 5k recap

Well, I ran my second 5k in 7 days. Usually, I go about five months between races, so I really didn't know if I had the endurance to get through this one. And considering my ankles had been bothering me for most of the week, I wasn't feeling perfect.

I loaded up on pasta with plenty of cheese and garlic the night before and slept about five hours. I woke up at 6:30 and ate my usual oatmeal raisin power bar and drank a liter of filtered water. I wore my sleeveless Jeremy Lin Knicks shirt, gray mesh shorts, and new Saucony sneakers. I left home around 7:45 and drove 15 minutes east on North Avenue to Wheaton Academy, my old high school.

Thankfully, the weather was actually comfortable, maybe 55 degrees. I was so thankful we had better running conditions that last year; it must have been 35 degrees that morning. I didn't see anyone I recognized except Chris Felinski, who has now become the head coach of the cross country teams. I was definitely one of the youngest runners, just like last year. The entire cross country team came to guide us and cheer us on; in fact, I'm pretty sure there were more volunteers than runners!

We started on the practice soccer field and early on, it was obvious that four or five guys were going to dominate the race. I ran a pretty consistent race in terms of my speed. But some things were different than last week's race. In South Barrington, we ran on a flat terrain and it was all asphalt. This weekend, I had to contend with running through grass and up and down these slanted hills. Those are the moments that really tested my will and endurance, but I got through them.

As I came down the final straightaway, I felt like I had just a little bit of a burst left. I manage to pick up some speed as I came across the finish line. I checked the clock and I finished at 22:17. I couldn't believe it, I had shaved 37 seconds off my time from last week. I never thought for a second I had run at a faster pace than last weekend.

Then, one of the volunteers explained to me that we ran 3 miles even, not 3.1, which is a standard 5k. So realistically, I would have finished right around 23 minutes, or maybe a little over. I was pretty content with that time anyway.

I headed over to the snack table for a banana, mini-sized bagel with pumpkin cream cheese, and two bottles of Ice Mountain water. Then, it was off to the gym for the sauna, shower, and whirlpool.

PS How did I get 255 readers of my last blog post when I usually get about 10? I'm not sure how to feel about that!