Once upon a time...

Once upon a spring day in 2004, I ran a 5K. My time was 34:18. Average pace, 11:02 per mile. The next year, I ran it again. My time was 34:05. Average pace, 10:58 per mile. The NEXT year, I ran it again. My time was 34:05 (funny, right?). Average pace 10:58.

Five years later, I ran it for the fourth time. My time was 23:43, and I won 1st place in my age group. Average pace, 7:38 per mile. How NUTS is that?!

(Yes, I realize I could pack for a week's vacation in the sacks under my eyes. While I had the foresight to put on earrings--uber fancy for me--makeup was *not* happening before that race, and I hadn't had any coffee yet! Focus on the medal, people.)

My parents were there doing the 5K walk, and The H pushed the little guy in the jogging stroller. After the 5K, the little guy "ran" in his very first race: a one-lap journey around the indoor track, which he finished piggyback-style on The H. Running is hard work, especially when you're only three feet tall.

I find it delightfully amusing that I've gotten faster as I've aged, but not only that, I'm in such better shape now than I was in my mid-20s. My diet no doubt plays a major role in that, and I'm so glad I've been able to adjust my lifestyle to accommodate a mostly-clean eating plan. The payoffs have thus far proven well worth it.

Below are my splits from the race--the first two miles are my warmup. SO glad I was able to get those in! Being loose and warm only worked in my favor, I'm sure. (Besides, to meet my marathon-training mileage for the week, I had to run a total of five miles! Four weeks to go...) While I was getting a little freaked out seeing 7:09 and 7:11 as part of my moving pace on the Garmin during the first mile, I tried not to think about it too much, since I knew it would all be over soon. :)

Split	Avg Moving Pace	Distance
1	9:37	1
2	9:33	1
3	7:17	1
4	7:42	1
5	7:29	1
6	7:11	0.18
Summary	8:17	5.18