Chili Bowl 5K

This past Saturday was the first road race of 2011.  It was put on by Hermes Cleveland and Tower 230 Bar.  It was a very well run event  and a big a thank you goes to the all the volunteers who braved the conditions for us runners.   The good news is that I 5K PR'd by 1 minute 21 seconds, but I had hoped to run a little faster.

If you missed it on Twitter Saturday.  A big congratulations go to @Shellsruns as she gave me good butt kicking in our bet with a run of 22:04, which was 2:44 ahead of me.  I wish I could have made things closer, but I was not match for such an outstanding runner.

My goal for the races this year prior to the Cleveland Marathon is to gain as much experience and practice as I can.  I want to run my marathon pace, get used to running in large packs, and work on hydration.  I feel like I succeeded at all these on Saturday.  I also learned what I need to work on to improve as a runner, including longer intervals on speedwork and the need to continue loosing weight.

Distance:  5K
Time:  24:48:56
Finish in age group:  32/67
Overall finish:  287/952
Average pace:  8:00

Next race is the Shamrock 15K on March 6th.