And I Ran....I couldn't get away...

I ran my first race Monday morning. I wanted to post while I was all enthused, but I was waiting for my final time results...my proxy time was just over 34 minutes, my final time was 34:48. I was pleased with my finish and more pleased that I felt *good* after the race.

I learned a few things, though, and I hope that knowing them will make my next result a couple minutes tighter.

1. Don't drink too much water before racing. I was tense, so I visited the ladies room several times in the morning, but when it came time to go to the start line, I was ready to go again. My bad for drinking 2 litres of water in the morning. I got stitches several times while running and had to slow down to stretch them out. I think this may have been the culprit.
   
2. Scope out the track. I did, and I'm glad I did. There were a number of hills, and it was great to have an idea of what was coming up so I could prepare for it.
   
3. In the elation of completing the race, don't forget to stretch! My calves are so tight today, and I swear it's because I simply didn't stretch post-race enough.
   

My pace wasn't steady, but was fairly consistent mile to mile. I hope to work towards a slightly faster second mile on the next race and beat 33 minutes for 5K. I'm going to look for a flatter course race and be sure to not drink so much water beforehand!

Oh yeah, the official tally:

Place Ag S 5k      Pace  Div/Tot  Div     Sex/Tot

===== == = ======= ===== ======== ======= ========

  259  34 F 34:48 11:14  16/27   F3034   103/154