The Paradise Island 5K was held on Memorial Day weekend in Orange Beach, AL. The race started at the Orange Beach Sports Complex and ran along the paved Back Country Trails. It followed the same route as the Shrimp Festival 5K.
My doctor was confident that I would be recovered from my knee surgery in time to run some late Spring races. I had several pain free runs of 3-5 miles. I was eager to race again. Although I worried that I wouldn't do as well as I hoped.
It was hot at the start (79 degrees and 97% humidity). I knew the weather would be a huge factor in my performance. My goal was to give it my all for as long as I could. If I started hurting I would back off, but as long as I was pain free I would push.
I started out too fast as usual and ran the entire first mile in 8:13. It was nice to see that pace again, but the heat was already starting to get to me. I knew I would struggle to maintain it. I decided to take a 30 second walk break after the first mile since I used the walk/run method on all my runs leading up to this race.
I continued with 2:00 run x 30 sec walk intervals for the remainder of the race. I finished in 28:35. Although that time is nowhere near my personal best, I was happy with my performance. My knee cooperated and I was able to give it my best shot.
There were so many fast women ahead of me. I checked the official results even though I was certain that I didn't place. To my surprise I placed 3rd in my age division. I was lucky that most of the women ahead of me weren't in the 30-34 division.
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