It’s been a few days since I ran 5k at the Valley Harvest Marathon but it was Thanksgiving weekend so I had to get all my ducks in a row before writing this post. Lilly ran her first race on Saturday and then I ran Sunday morning followed by Thanksgiving dinner with the fam. Let’s just say I was beyond exhausted when we got home and all four of us were in bed by 8:45 pm!

The night before my run was a bit of a gong show….in brief; Sai came home, both girls were up multiple times, we all had very little sleep and I had very little training as Hilary was pretty sick for 2 weeks.

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My day/run went something like this….

5:15 am Up with Hilary – got her back to sleep at 6 am. (We were up at midnight and 1:30 am also).

6:30 am Alarm goes off – I get up and get ready.

Somewhere between 7 and 8:22 am we all ate breakfast, got dressed, packed up and hit the road for the run.

8:40 am Arrive at Acadia University in Wolfville where the run was to take place. We parked are car, loaded up the stroller and headed down to the start area. There were lots of runners going by as the Ultra, Full and 1/2 Marathon started before the 10 and 5K runs.

9:00 am 10K runners start – we cheered them on and then it was my turn to delayer my new jacket and fleece pants and wait in line.  I lined up in the “Sub 30” group hoping to finish under 35 minutes. While waiting for the start, I saw two people I knew; one girl I coached 10 years ago in under 12 soccer…I felt a little old at that point 🙂 But it was great to see her.

Pre-race cuddles (warmth), finisher and family photo!

9:15 am 5k Run starts…I started my Green Garmin and off we went. Sai, Lilly and Hilary were up ahead and as I approached them Lilly was happy to see me…and I tossed my sunglasses to Sai. Even though it was sunny and BLOODY cold (+2 C ) I decided I didn’t want them.

Not even a minute into the run and my pants started falling down. NOT A GOOD SIGN!

It was an awesome flat course through the Town of Wolfville, then onto the Dykes (trails) and then back to the Acadia track via crusher-dust trails. The views were pretty sweet looking over the dykes and ocean (Minas Basin). There was one small, smallest of small inclines and it killed me AND the professional photographer was RIGHT there taking my race photo. AWESOME!

My Garmin did not disappoint! It told me when I was ahead of my pace, behind my pace and how fast I was running each kilometer. Best. Running. Purchase. Ever!

The last kilometer was completely a head game. I KNOW I can run the distance but my body hadn’t put in the time and I wasn’t sure how I would do. My goal was to run the last 1k as much as I could. In my head I would say don’t walk until this point and then my legs would stop. Twice I walked when I really should have just kept running and that may have cost me 20-30 seconds on my time … which would have been awesome to get!

I came up to the track and finished the race strong but as I crossed the finish line buddy beside me took a step to his left and STOPPED right in front of me …. so I had to dodge his body or I would have smacked into his back. Thank goodness NO ONE was watching the finish line… oh well, I don’t think my finish looked too bad.

I found my little family hanging out with our good friend Meredith. We hung out for a bit, got some snacks, water and enjoyed the sunshine as it had warmed up.

My stats: 5 K (3.1 miles)

Garmin Time: 32:11

Chip Time: 32:10

Finish Time: 32:21

Average Pace: 6:26/k

Overall place: 224 out of 468 runners in the 5k

Division Place: 67 of 156

I was really happy with my race and my time. After I started running my goal of finishing under 35 minutes dropped to finishing under 33 minutes and I did that. However, if I only pushed it a little more during that last kilometer I may have broken 32 minutes.

My running outfit and awesome swag!

My ultimate goal is to run a sub 29:18 either at a race or in training. Knowing where I finished at this race, balancing two girls (sometimes on my own), and not always getting out to train, I know my goal is in sight I just have to make it happen now.

Have you ever almost run into someone at the finish line?

Ever run into your mind saying one thing and your body doing another?

What’s your favourite FALL race to run / watch ?