It was one month since the Father's Day Run, and I worked hard to target my goal of running a sub 30 minute 5K. I started incorporating mile repeats in my training leading up to this race. Mom and I had also started running longer runs of 6-8 miles on the weekends. We signed up to run our first half marathon at St.Jude Memphis in December. Although we hadn't started our official training plan, we wanted to start preparing ourselves for the longer distances.
Xtreme Outdoors Ministry was hosting the Miles for Missions 5K to support a young girl, Alexis', mission trip to South Africa. Alexis's trip would last nine months to spread the Gospel, learn the language, and work in schools for Christ. There was a great turn out for this race. Many of the participants attended Alexis' church.
It was hot and there was very little shade on the course. I knew to run a sub 30 5K I had to maintain at least a 9:39 pace. I purchased my Garmin Forerunner 10 in May, and it helped me pace my runs better than running with nothing at all. My first mile was 9:49. I knew I needed to go faster in order to meet my goal, but I didn't want to wear myself out too soon. I had learned my lesson of starting out too fast.
I ran the second mile in 9:59. This is when I started to panic. "I'm not going to make it," I thought. "Not today." I climbed up a hill and at the bottom I saw some girls that I suspected were in my age group. My competitive spirit awakened. I picked up speed and in no time I passed them. I wanted to stay ahead of them so I maintained speed. With the finish line in sight, I looked down at my Garmin. I had only seconds to spare, but if I pushed I could make my goal. I pumped my arms, picked up my cadence, and raced towards the finish. My heart was beating out of my chest. The clock read 29:56! I had done it! I also placed 2nd in my age division!
Do you set time goals? Do you remember to first time you achieved your time goal?
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