A Race a Month // March

Race for the Cure - Baton Rouge : 3.1 miles

Before: I've had exactly 4 weeks between this race and my last, the half marathon. I took about two of those off and barely ran at all. These last two weeks I've really just been working on speed intervals and I wasn't too confident I could shave off any time from my last 5k back in January. My goal going into the race was 25:36, which would be 30 seconds faster than my personal best 5k. My coworker Eileen agreed to come down to the race and take photos!! I was so glad she did. I also met up with another Northland College graduate who lives in Baton Rouge. Basically, I had some motivation to kick butt!!!

1st Mile: There were only a few hundred of us that had timed chips, the rest were just running for fun. We got to be up at the front for the start. My watch kept telling me I was running around a 8:40 -9 minute mile and I was pretty discouraged. I knew I needed to be running 8 minutes. I was also getting passed a lot... but I just kept telling myself that the race wasn't over. **I actually ran a 7:34 mile**


2nd Mile: Passed a water station and got a little pep back in my step and my music got me pumped up to take on the rest of the race. I stayed with this girl that had been trying to pass me and I totally sprinted off once we were on a hill. We passed by this sorority house that had all their girls on either side of us cheering us on... it was amazing. 


3rd Mile: I couldn't believe I was almost done. A half marathon to a 5k felt amazing. I just told myself I only have one mile left... I can do this. It went by very quickly and before I knew it I could see the finish line. I sprinted to the end. 

After: I couldn't believe my time!! 25:07 ... 59 seconds faster than my 5k in January. And 30 seconds faster than my goal time. I was so excited!!! It felt amazing. It still feels amazing. 


Time // 25:07 - 8:00 minute pace average
Results // 4th in 20-24 female  -- 23/259 total women -- 120/488 total runners