Celebrate Fairfax 5K

A couple months ago, my friend, Sarah, told me she'd like to try a 5K.  She's never run more than a mile in her life, but after coming to support me at Ironman last fall, felt inspired.  Awesome!  So, we looked at our schedules and decided to do the Celebrate Fairfax 5K.

We agreed to meet at 7:15 to pick up our packets and get ready for the 8am start.  I should've been a little more thourough in reading the race instructions because first I drove to the wrong site - I assumed the race started and ended at Fairfax Corner, but nope!  It was all at the Fairfax Government Center.  Oops!  Then, because of the festival that's going on all weekend, there was no parking allowed at the race site.  Instead, we had to park at least half mile away.  All of this was very clearly indicated in the pre-race communication email that was sent out, if only I would've read that!  But alas, we both got to the race site with plenty of time to spare to grab our race packets, use the bathroom and take a few pre-race pictures.

As the race started, Sarah told me she wanted to aim to keep around a 12-13 min per mile pace.  I told her I would stay with her, but not to feel like she had to stay with me if she wanted to go ahead.  We ran the first mile and a half (maybe a little less) together right around a 11:50 pace, and then we got to a long uphill that I decided to walk.  I sent her ahead and she later told me she was able to hold that pace for the entire race, stopping only to walk a small amount at the final hill.

Meanwhile, I fell into my normal "run when I can, walk when I want to" rhythm and felt pretty decent except for the super hot sun that was already burning down.  There were very few areas of shade on the course.  I haven't been training much, esp since my pain management doctor told me I need to ease off the running for a bit, so I forgave myself for letting my pace slip to 14 min miles towards the end.  

I did find some energy as I approached the finish line and was challenged by the girl next to me in that photo to really push it at the end.  I immediately grabbed some cold water and headed to the shade to rest for a minute.  Other than the heat, it was a great event and Sarah did awesome!  In fact, I think she's hooked and is already asking when we can do another

We sat for a min and then made the long walk back to our cars and drove over to Silver Diner for breakfast. Then it was home for a shower and nap!