Sweet 15

(check out the far left!)

The too perfect town of Narberth greeted us on Saturday morning for its annual 5 mile race benefiting cystic fibrosis. Coming off of a successful 5k last weekend, I was looking forward to returning to this course, where I'd had a good showing and enjoyable race last year.

Remembering how long I struggled to get my HR under control last week, I went for a about a mile and a half warm-up while Lauren caught up with a few of her friends who happened to be running as well. I got back just in time to change into my racing flats, pin on the number, and wiggle my way into a decent starting position.

Lauren gave me a few final words of encouragement and I did my best not to feel intimidated by the singlet/short-shorts outfits of the fast runners. Finally we were off and I made the beginner's mistake of going out too fast. I think the speed of the 5k last weekend was still in my legs, but when I saw that the leaders were still close by, I knew I needed to pull back a little...but why do that?!

The first two miles flew by at around a 6:07 pace, and I quickly realized that I'd pretty much be running on my own (again) as the leaders were well ahead and the next wave of runners was a good bit behind. I paid for my early pace over the next two miles, as I just tried to maintain a visual of the pack ahead of me.



The Narberth run is known for its hills, something I typically see as a strength, but today I struggled to find that nice rhythm going up and down them. Brutally, two of the toughest hills come within the final mile and a half. At this point I noticed the crowds were cheering quite a bit louder for me...well at least I thoguht for me. It was then that I realized two women were fighting for the women's title directly behind me, and hoping to take me down as well.

Finally with a little motivation and a semblance of a pacer, even though I couldn't see them behind me, I was able to begin pushing the pace for the closing stretch. Turn after turn I heard the footsteps closing in, and each time I did my best to increase my leg turnover and muster any more speed I could. I'd noticed I was able to pull away slightly on the various downhills, so I held onto that piece of hope as the last stretch declines gradually.


The final turn saw a young boy holding a "I Love Fast Women" sign, so I was pretty sure who the crowd would be pushing for! Feeling like a stalked prey I continued pushing down the final straightaway until I saw the clock and my time goal in sight. I really put my arms into a final push, and did manage to hold off the champion and runner-up women and a few others that had joined the chase. I always find it easier to chase other people down, so it was pretty rewarding to keep them at bay.



The final tallies read 32:30 on the clock (under my 33 min goal, even though the Garmin said the course was a little long), 2nd of 35 in my age group, and 15th out of 707. I was thrilled with what looks like my highest finish ever and it hopefully foreshadows a good race next weekend at the extremely bloated Broad Street Run.