race report - ARR summer run series #1

5k time - 43:57. terrible.

ironically it's about the time that i've been holding in my sprint tris lately as well. i guess consistency is an attribute, on some level.

i signed up as a member of the arizona road racers. the membership fee is nothing and they send you an awesome journal with the entire year's race calendar for the area too. that was worth the fee alone in my book. they also put on a summer race series - 4 races of 5k to 4 miles each. i figured what the hell. this first one was at papago park, starting essentially in the zoo. i really really didn't want to get out of bed, but that's a common theme lately. i also didn't want to go without my dog, but the website clearly states no dogs. baby strollers ok. dogs no. and don't think for a second it didn't cross my mind to go out and find the biggest bob stroller i could find and put lucca's big ass in it.

anyway, i made it out. dave was able to break away from work to come see me off. i was too slow to be able to catch him before he had to return to work though. it was a typical 5k. they staggered the start though by age group, but the ages weren't in order. they calculated last year's results and started each age group according to how the mean of each group did last year. the end goal was to get everyone in each age group to cross the line at the same time, if everyone managed to keep up with the average pace for their age group. in theory, it's a really cool way to start a race. i've not seen that before. of course i didn't see it this time either. too slow. i knew that going in though. no biggie. or maybe it is and i'm just hiding it (poorly). the course itself was rolling for a bit, and then it went along the canal. it was in the upper 60s for the race, so it was perfect weather.

as a result, the same day i emailed the group i've decided to go with as a triclub. i got a response today, and i hope to be meeting with their head coach this coming week. my last coach was really big on goals, so i've been thinking about my goals:

1 - i want to be able to run a 5k without walking by _____(don't know what realistic time frame i should put here)

2 - i want to race SOMA in october and beat my Oceanside time

3 - i want to race SOMA lighter by at least 5 pounds than i raced Oceanside

seeing as how we're trying to start a family, these goals might go right out the window any month now. hoping so anyway. but in the meantime, i'd love to get smaller and beat my previous race time. a full distance is no longer feasible until we've had at least 1 kiddo, and i'm ok with that. i've acknowledged it and moved on. i want to start a family first. that's my ultimate goal. there'll always be time for a full ironman. besides, it'll be awesome to have my own family cheering me across the line of my first full.

we shall see!