Liberty 5K: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Running.

July 3 brought the annual Liberty By the Lake 5K, a favorite race of ours for many reasons. The 2008 Liberty 5K was my first race ever and I consider it my "anniversary" of running. It is the first race that Erik and I did together and I remember being so proud of both of us when we finished for the first time. The logistics are just alot easier as the Liberty 5K is held right here in our little suburb, so we don't have to get up at the crack of dawn to drive to Dallas.

I woke up to the sound of rain and was hoping for a rainy race, however, the rain held off and left us with a heavy blanket of humidity. We arrived at the park and immediately spotted a group of runners in hot pink Heels and Hills shirts. Libby Jones, Heels and Hills Half co-director was there with some members of the Lucky 13 Run Team. Libby and Jamie were both doing the inaugural 10K race. We also found Mary, her daughter Kama, and Linzy--a friend from work. One of my favorite things about running is the people that I have met, and I was thinking about that as I started the race.

I have been thinking about a huge goal for several months now: to place in the top 3 in my age group in this race. I knew that it was possible as I finished 5th place a year ago. I knew how much I needed to improve to be good enough for 3rd place and I had been focused on it over the last few weeks. I really wanted a trophy, and I knew that it would take a new 5K personal record (PR) to get it.

We started near the front and I took off pretty fast--faster than I usually do--and the humidity hit me square in the face. Holy cow! This was going to be the hardest 3.1 miles that I have ever run. I knew that I was moving faster than usual and was pleased to reach the 1 mile mark in 8:10. I also knew that I would have to hold that pace for two more miles...ugh. Erik and I ran together the whole way and it was nice to have someone to share some of the hard work with. At one point Erik asked if I was "chewing the air" like he was. Indeed, the conditions were not great for a PR.

We hit mile 2 in 16:22, making the second mile in 8:12 and holding a good pace. Mile 3 felt like four miles instead of one and I felt pretty sure that I was coming undone just a little bit. I knew what I needed to do and tried to keep on pushing, picturing my goal as I struggled to get a deep breath. I was so happy to see mile 3 that I didn't check my watch to see if we were, indeed, slowing. I really wanted to cross the line before Erik and tried to wait long enough before engaging in my final big kick. I feel certain that he knew this and was also biding his time until I made my push. Sure enough, I kicked it up a notch and Erik did too, crossing the line just before me. I was pleased to see 25:22 on my watch, and I thought that I might, just maybe, have managed to get a third place finish. I am not going to lie, I felt terrible the moment that we stopped running. It was just impossible to get a breath and I wanted to sit down more than anything. However, as soon as I got some water and walked around a minute I felt normal again. A look at the final results show that even though Erik crossed the line before me, we somehow ended up with an exact tie as his time was also 25:22. We must have started at slightly different times.


After the race we met up with Jamie (one of the Heels and Hills gals), Mary, Kama, and Linzy and waited for the awards to be handed out. I was still not sure if I had placed and it was fun to see runners of all ages getting trophies. When they got to my age group they announced 3rd place and it wasn't me....but then they announced 2nd place and called my name!! I don't think that I could have been smiling any bigger when I went to get my trophy. I have never won an award for anything athletic and now I had a lovely eagle trophy--a huge running milestone. I still can't believe that it happened. Jamie thought that she might have placed in her age group for the 10K so we waited with her to see. Nobody should get a trophy alone, right? Sure enough, Jamie took 3rd place in her age group. We were both so proud to carry our eagles out of the park. I may, or may not, have taken mine to breakfast with me. I also might, or might not have, carried in my purse at some point this week.


Jamie and I show off our age group trophies

I was surprised at how hard that was--that race was harder than most of the half marathons that I have run. I don't race 5Ks that often because I thought of them as too short or not enough of a challenge. Consider my mind CHANGED!! I can appreciate the challenge that the shorter distances bring and I am looking forward to the next opportunity to meet those challenges.