5k Race Report

On Saturday I ran the Great Northern 5k, and forgot to wear a watch. I'm pretty sure this is the first race I've run without a watch. I actually started out as first woman, for probably a good few minutes, but had no Garmin to verify that I was running too fast. I was passed by 4 other women by the time I reached the finish line, but was pleased to have run 22:12, which is a Montana PR and only 44 seconds slower than my all-time 5k PR, which was run at sea level. I previously thought this made my race time close to my PR time but that's not true. According to Jack Daniel's running formula, this is the equivalent of 21:54 at sea level. Anyhow, I'm not sure whether it was the new shoes (Nike LunarRacers), the lack of a watch or what but I'm pleased. I felt good and my legs never felt tired. Much like the Shamrock Shuffle, I actually triggered an asthma attack and was limited by breathing rather than leg speed. I don't know what's up with that but apparently I now have some manner of exercise induced asthma (it has always been allergy induced). Next 5k I'll puff my inhaler first and see if I can PR. Someday I'd like to run sub-20 minutes. That would be pretty cool.

Finally, the group ran a great 13ish mile loop today around/near Herron Park. Mostly single-track with a little double-track thrown in there. It was fantastic. I wish I had brought my camera, but I was planning on running 5 miles.