FML - First 5k in the bag

So this past weekend, my wife and I competed in our first 5k, along with my stepsister, her husband, and my niece.  It was the Miles for the Military 5k in South Barrington, raising money for veterans charities.  The race went a lot better than I expected.  I finished in 40:43, which beat my personal best in training by about 4 minutes.  However, since we started at the back of the pack, there was a good 20-30 seconds before we crossed the starting line, so my time was even better than that.  There is definitely a lot of pressure to run faster when you are running in a giant crowd, as opposed to running solo on a treadmill.  The course had timers up at the mile markers, so I know my splits.  I hit the first mile mark at 12:27, and the 2nd mile mark at 25:30.  It was the final mile that really killed me.  I was overheating because I had on too many layers, so I had to revert to walking briefly in order to remove my sweatshirt and move my runner's tag from my sweatshirt to my undershirt.  Nothing is more fun than trying to pin back on a tag while moving.  I tried to do it while still running but I kept stabbing myself with the pins.  I suppose if I had been dressed better for the race, I would've broken the 40 minute mark, but at least I have a nice goal for my next race.

My family all spanked me on the course, however.  My 10 year old niece and my stepsister beat me by 5 minutes, my brother in law by 4.5 minutes, and my wife by 3 minutes.  At least I was able to finish though, and I am proud of myself for taking this step to improve my health.

Next up is the Shamrock Shuffle 8k in March, and the Big 10k in the summertime.  I'm hoping I do well in those races, and I'll have to spend the winter working on my endurance if I hope to have any sort of good time in those events.