After sustaining an ankle/foot injury early in September its time to run the Laruier Loop my second 5K race. Its start and end was at the same location as the Waterloo Classic, but the route is different. This time its two loops around and through the park. I arrive on race morning less nervous than the previous time. I am alone but know where to go and what to expect. I arrive early to ensure a good parking spot before they close the roads. How early is too early for a race? Well and hour is good for parking, but that’s about it. So I relax in my car watching participants arrive. Its homecoming weekend in Waterloo so there was lots of school spirit.
About 20 min before the race I make my second or third trip to the ladies room. I head to the in field and start a light stretch. Runners are called to line up, and I find myself alone but not nervous. I lined up somewhere between the font of the line and the middle of the pack. I get my phone app open and ready to start, I get my music set, not too loud not too quiet. When the gun sounded I started off slow, there is no real running when there are this many people pushing off at the same time. Once we leave the stadium I start to break away from the crowd. I maintained a fast pace, perhaps a little faster than anticipated. As we reached the park I charged up the small hill passing several other runners, heading through the water stating. My pace is fast but good. As I head into the second loop I continue to pass other runners. I charge up the hill again, and this time I take some water on my way through. I had not realized how difficult it is to try to drink the water when running that fast. While some of it hit my mouth, most of it poured down my chin but I didn’t slow down. I have a race to win!
Coming out of the park heading in to the last half kilometer I found myself stuck behind a pack of football players. They were walking several men wide, and were difficult to get around. After a quick shoulder check I head a little further out into the road and blow past them. I’m in the home stretch and I feel good. The pace is hard to maintain but I push on. As I round the track and get into the last 100 meters I try to catch up to and pass another runner. Its her and I racing the clock. She hears me coming and speeds up. I tried very hard to catch her but she crossed the line first. I push strong through the finish line, and thankfully its over.
WOW I can’t believe how hard I ran, I was hurting but kept pushing, and it felt great. After a stretch, massage and some food I check the results. I am excited to find I placed 9th in my age category, no wonder there wasn’t much of a line for the massage therapist.
My ankle is sore but not bad, and I’m excited I have a new PR!! 00:29:14 WOW.
It's time to run 