Today I ran my 3rd race of 2014, the Run4Missions 5K supporting the Community Church of Hendersonville, TN.  The race took place at the Streets of Indian Lake and this is a fairly flat area so I went into it expecting to have a fast finish time.

I’ve been running at the 29-30 minute 5K mark so I was hoping to do a bit better, and a bit better I did.  The high for the day was expected to be in the low 60’s.  The temperature at race time though was only going to be in the upper 30’s, so it wasn’t going to be a warm race.

The race started at 8 AM and the weather was partly cloudy skies and 39 degrees.  I started off feeling really good and was hoping to get the first mile in around 9 minutes.  When my running app read off my first mile stats I was surprised to hear an 8:05 pace.  Wow!

When I hit the 1.5 mile mark I was at an elapsed time of 12:11 and I was thinking maybe I could get a 26-27 minute time!  The last mile though was a bit rough.  I could feel myself slowing down but at the 2.5 mile mark I did my best to keep going at my current pace.

My second mile pace was 8:49 and my third mile pace was 8:52.  I was a little more consistent those last two miles but that last half-plus mile was tough.  My overall time (unofficially) was 27:16 and my fastest time yet.  I was please with my time and afterwards I felt good.

I recovered pretty quickly once I was done but I need to work on my finishing pace.  I recently signed up as a member of a local running group, Nashville Striders, so I’ll be sure to reach out to the members there and see what I can do to get myself finishing races a bit stronger (and maybe even a bit faster).  Next up is the St. Patrick’s Day Kegs & Eggs 5K/10K Supporting Special Olympics Nashville a week from tomorrow.  I’m signed up for the 10K and the race course is in the Gulch area of West Nashville and that means hills!

On Saturday I took part in the first annual Hill YEAH! 5K.  This event was put on to support a local charity, Room In The Inn.  This is a great charity that helps the homeless and the fact that the organizers decided to have this in the winter time was perfect.  What a better way to get a feel for living out on the streets than actually running in the streets when it’s cold outside!

The course was definitely full of hills and while I wasn’t expecting a fast time due to the terrain, I actually turned in my best 5K time ever at 29:19.  This is definitely one I will be running again!  Up next is the Nashville Hot Chocolate 15K which is going to be a good run to help me with my mileage as I continue to prepare for the upcoming Nashville 1/2 Marathon which is only a few months away!

The Nashville Striders, a local running club, helped with the race and look to be a good group to get involved with.  I think I’ll be checking them out a bit more and probably signing up to be a member.  I’ve found it’s always better to run in groups and this looks to be a good group of runners from all walks and expertise!

Info on the race:  http://www.hillyeah5k.com/#

Pictures from the race:  http://www.nashvillestriders.com/gallery-2014/hill-yeah-5k/

Nashville Striders:  http://www.nashvillestriders.com