Moving Around the World 5k Run/Walk

At 10 AM, I did the "Moving Around the World 5k Run/Walk" http://www.movingaroundtheworldrun.com/ in Annapolis, sponsored by the Annapolis Rotary Club. It was cold this morning, but I could definitely tell Spring is here!

The run was somewhat crowded with runners and walkers of all levels. We had a slow start as everyone was entering the course; it was very congested and some of the walkers had positioned themselves at the front of the race. Once I hit the 1 mile mark though, it opened up and there was a good bit of distance between runners and walkers. The first mile is always easy. It goes by in a blink and I started to feel "warmed up". Around the second mile, my ears were burning and the cold air was tight in my lungs and on my face.

My allergies were really bothering me this morning and I just felt like I couldn't get any good deep breaths. I couldn't breathe through my nose at all. I pushed my shoulders back, straightened my spine and really tired to get the air in. I actually had to slow down my pace and just focus on getting some good breaths. I slowed down too long, though. At 2.5 miles, I hit it hard and just tried to make up my time.

I came in at 30 minutes. Not bad, but not great. It was slower than what I had run in October. The trail was much harder than my October run, I was fighting allergies and the air was biting cold. Earlier this week, I ran in 27 minutes, so it was very disappointing to have added the 3 minutes. I knew I slowed down for too long, but it is what it is and I'm ok with that. I'm looking for other race in the next couple weeks to beat my best time.

Looking back at where I was less than a year ago, I'm very proud of myself.