I was very undecided which pacing I would run but I settled on a nice Tempo-ish run. My marathon training pace is 14 m/m and this run would be around 12-ish m/m. It was VERY warm and muggy but hey...it's the 4th of July!
The cast of characters would be me, hubby Jim, DIL Emily (my running partner) and grandson Hayden. Son Matt was sitting this one out. Jim, Emily and myself were all running 5k's and Hayden the 1/2 mile kiddie run. I went to a very busy packet pickup yesterday and was greeted by my first taste of swag that Joe put together. That would be personalized bibs, a great tech shirt (yay!) and a huge beer stein all in celebration of the 30th anniversary of Firecracker which is obviously a Quad Cities runner's mainstay.
The kids spent the night at Hotel Rose (newly finished basement) and we all got up early as I mentioned earlier. We all know the routine and we are quite good at it. We carpooled and made it to race central. Did I mention it was warm? Need I remind you that it is 4th of July?
We didn't have a whole lot of time to spare and we found our spots in a VERY CROWDED starting area. Joe mentioned that Firecracker had a record number of runners but I don't know what that number is. Let's just say ALOT.
The canon sounds and we are off.
I settled into a comfortably hard pace and hit my stride early. With my cross training with strength training I am feeling stronger and can feel it in my running. Awesome! Even with the heat, I felt great and held a pretty even pace. The pace? 11 m/m!!! Not quite the 12 m/m I was planning but the legs wanted to run! Of the two weekday runs I always pace one of them at a quicker clip so this one fit the bill.
This 5k actually went by pretty fast because there were so many spectators along the course and that is always a great thing to see. The only thing is you round corner and then a curve and then the finish line is so far away. That tends to suck some wind out of one's sails but I just kept my eyesight at about 3 feet ahead of me and went inside a zone. That seriously worked week and right through the finish chute I go.
Catching my breath and putting the lungs back in my chest I reach for my awesome Firecracker Run medal. Great job, Joe!!! I head to the mister and then return to the finish line only to see I missed Emily but still waiting for Jim. He actually looked great in spite of the heat and it appeared he was enjoying himself.
We gather together and wait for Hayden's race. In the meantime I head over to the packet pickup to get a larger size shirt. Done!
Hayden and Emily are at the cutest start/finish line ever and Hayden finishes with a grin on his face.
With all races completed we head over to the post race area with food, beverages and beer. I have been 17 days beer free and I decided this was worth ending this streak and I was not disappointed. Now, my new no-beer streak begins!
We head home and after awhile the kids head home and I proceed to my workout room to do my Get In Shape Girl Wednesday leg/core workout. Done!
All in all, this was a great 4th of July and I am very happy...make that giddy...with my clean eating and my wonderful fitness regimen. I am feeling so good!
Stats: Firecracker Run 5k; 35:20; 11:11 av pace; 304 cals torched
Splits: 11:08, 11:23, 11:17, 9:46
Now for the photos!
~ Grandpa Rosies and Hayden getting ready to race~
~Hayden and Mommy pre-race for the Kid's race~
~The cutest Finish/Start Line ever~
~The usual Laurie/Emily post-race photo~
~Me and hubby Jim~
~Grandma Rosies and Hayden loving our bling~
~Yes, Hayden, you are too cute~
~Firecracker Run 2012 swag~
Happy 4th of July everyone!
Until next time...
Toodles!
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