7th Place

     Instead of being a bum on a Saturday morning, I woke up and drove to Brighton for a charity 5k.  It was not a big time race at all, in fact most of the people there were employees of the school district or students who were trying to raise money for their PE program. 
     Right at the start I took off and found myself in the lead pack.  I figured it was because people didn't place themselves in the start very well and that I would soon get passed by a flood of runners.  After the first mile, no one had passed from behind yet, and I started to feel real great about my race.  The pack started to stretch out and one by one I was knocking off the individuals that started out too fast.  I started to hear footsteps around mile two and I was finally passed by two women who appeared to be racing for the top female spot.  They were neck and neck and both of them were breathing insanely hard.  I tried to keep pace with them for a little bit, then I figured I needed to stick to my own race and let them go.  I am over the fact that it is possible to be beaten by women, I only tried to keep up with them due to their faster pace.
     The last part of the course was down hill but it didn't really matter.  Everyone in front of me was able to pick up the pace as well and we were all locked into our finishing places.  The finish consisted of a lap around the quarter mile track and as soon as I hit it, it was a full blown sprint to the finish.  The first finisher was crossing the finish as I entered the track, I had only been a quarter of a mile from the leader.  That alone made excited me, then as I started to count the finishers I realized I had gotten 7th place. 
     Had anyone from my run club been at the race, the outcome would have been different, but they weren't.  So I am going to brag about my 7th place finish (out of 400ish) for a very long time.  I don't think I have ever finished that high in the overall category of any race, ever.  Kudos to me!
     Prior to the race I decided that I have been putting in enough miles with my KSO's and I didn't really care about trying to win so I would run in them. The decision did not hurt me at all.  I first I found myself running on my toes and it was due to the fact that I was wearing by barefoot shoes that I realized my stride was off.  I corrected it around the half mile mark and had a smooth race to the end.  The downhill section did not bother me either.  I thought I might feel it in my knees more from the pounding, but it was as comfortable as my track shoes.
     I could never just train for a run race, I enjoy doing other activities too much.  However it is obvious that my training is going well and I continue to improve each step of the way.  Look out St. George, I'm coming for you.