Woooooo HOOOOOOOOOO

Yesterday, I raced in the Pink Strides Trail Run here in my little village of Granville, Ohio.  It was a blustery fall day, but perfect for a trail run.  I did this race last year and loved it.  It's a rolling 5K trail at a local park - it's not a flat course.  Lots of ups and downs and a couple (with one in particular) long, gradual hills. Friends of mind knew I was going for a PR on this race.  Last year I finished third in my age group with a pace just over 10 mins/mile.  This year I was really hoping to finish first in my age group with an average pace of less then 9 mins/mile.

Guess what I did?  For the first time EVER, my name is at #1 on the age group list.  TECHNICALLY, I was third in my age group, as the first place female is my friend Megan.  She finished in 25:41.  The second in my age finished in 26:13 - but because they came in for the top 5 females overall, they don't get put in the age group category.  Late last night (around 10:15pm to be exact), I opened up the race site's page to see this:

I did a dance.  I've never seen my name up that high before!  First in age group, SEVENTH woman overall (out of 56) and 20th place in the entire race (83 timed runners).

I was able to accomplish this in large part because of my friend J.  A seasoned cross country runner, he stayed with me the whole race, encouraging me when I REALLY wanted to walk and slow down.  I know that after the one BIG hill, I would have come to a complete stop and had a long long walk if I were not running with him.  So, J, THANK YOU so much for coaching me through that run.  I didn't break nine minutes/mile on average, but I was well below 9 on the first two miles.  Next year, dammit, next year.  Hey, maybe I can actually finish in the top five women overall :-)