2014 Run 2 Save Our Youth Race Recap

Put another race in the books this morning at the 8th Annual Run 2 Save Our Youth 5k! It was very sunny but relatively cool for a 9:00 am start. Since the race was pretty close to home, we didn't even have to get up early to make it to packet pickup before the race.

It was weird lining up for the race a ways behind Mr. Shoe, since I am a bit faster. Or at least I am a bit faster for now. I think these days are numbered! Mr. Shoe always runs without a watch but had still set a goal for himself of sub 25:00. Since the race was a down and back, he figured out what song on his playlist needed to playing when he hit the turn around.

I didn't wear a watch because I didn't want any pressure to try for a certain pace. I wanted my running to be completely dictated by how I felt. No goals, no pressure, just a fun run. Once the race started and I settled into a comfortable pace, I realized I was actually feeling pretty good. I started scanning the rest of the runners to see how far ahead Mr. Shoe was. Since he is tall he was pretty easy to spot. I figured he was only about 45 seconds in front of me. I told myself that it wasn't worth trying catching up. If I pushed it now, I didn't know if my foot would hold up for the entire race.

At the turnaround, Mr. Shoe realized he was actually ahead of his pace, which meant I was running faster than anticipated. I just didn't know it. When we passed each other, Mr. Shoe was worried that I was pushing it too hard. It is kind of funny, he knew how fast we were running and thought I was too fast. I didn't know how fast we were moving, and I thought he was too slow. Without a clock I apparently can not gauge pace correctly. I stopped for water shortly after the turn around so I could evaluate how my foot was feeling (pain free!).

My best friend, Lauren, and Mr. Shoe

A ways after that I crossed paths with my friend Lauren; she told me that I was currently the 6th woman. I could see that there were 3-4 women that weren't too far out of reach. My lungs were protesting a bit after 3 weeks off, but my legs still felt strong. Once the finish line came into view, Mr. Shoe picked up his pace and managed to pick off the runner that he had slowly been catching. It was great to watch him finish strong. My kick felt really strong and I managed to pass 3 women in the last stretch.

Mr. Shoe hit his goal perfectly finishing in about 24:41, which was good enough for third place in his age group! This was the first time that he has placed in his age group and I am so proud of him! I finished about a minute behind him (25:30), which was good enough to be 3rd Place Overall Female. I really hadn't planned on running that fast. I figured I would finish somewhere between 27-32 minutes.

After the race there was a ton of food available, more than the usual bagels and bananas. There was also sub sandwiches, hot dogs, chips, fruit, brownies, and all sorts of beverages to choose from. We all grabbed a bunch of food and chowed down while we waited for the awards ceremony.  I love this race and I know I will be back next year for the seventh consecutive year!