Houston 5K - January 12th

Last year my Aunt Denise and I planned to do the Houston Marathon this year.  Well, she had some issues during training and we decided to drop down to the half marathon instead.  Then, I heard that there was a 5K the day before the half marathon, and if you did the 5K and the half marathon then you would get a medal for each of those races PLUS a third medal for doing both races.  I'm all about the medals and since I knew the half marathon would be a slower race than normal for me, I figured what the heck.  Plus, my Uncle Josh and two of my cousins were doing the 5K as well, so I thought it would be fun.

Friday night I drove to Houston and spent the night with my grandma.  Saturday morning my Uncle Josh (along with my cousins) picked me up and we headed downtown.  As typical for Houston, it was muggy and warm - high 60s.  Shorts and a tank top for me. 

We checked out the little outdoor expo, got our packets and headed to the start line.  My 13 year old male cousin wanted to run, but my 16 year old female cousin wanted to walk most of it.  Since my Uncle Josh was doing the full marathon the next day, he said he would stay with Keeley and I said I would run with Blake.  Blake thought he would run the 5k in about 28-29 minutes which is my normal training pace, so that was perfect. 

Well, when the gun went off, so did Blake.  He sprinted fast in the beginning and it takes my body a little while to warm up, so I let him go.  I could still see him for a while but then he finally got too far ahead of me.  I thought either he would have a great race or I would catch up with him at some point in the race.

Mile 1 split:  9:46

I was perfectly happy with that pace and just kept going at a comfortable pace.  Just before mile 2, I saw Blake up ahead of me.  I caught up with him and asked how he was doing.  He said good, but I could tell he had gone out too fast.  I didn't want to change my pace at this point.  He tried to stay with me for a while, but then at some point he dropped back.

Mile 2 split:  9:29

One more mile and I would be done.  I never did see Blake again, but just enjoyed the nice run and getting my legs ready for Sunday.

Mile 3 split:  9:34

Last .1:  1:01

Total time:  29:48 for a 9:37 pace

For not racing, I'll take it.

Waited for Blake to cross the finish and then found my Uncle Josh and Keeley by the car.  Headed back to my grandmas to shower, take her to lunch at her favorite place (Luby's) and then wait for my Aunt Denise so we could go to the expo and get our packets for the half marathon.