The Cougar Prowl 5K: Seizing The Day!!

Fact: I don't race that many 5Ks. Between half marathons, 15Ks, trail runs, and social runs our running calendar stays pretty full. I would rather spend valuable racing dollars on a quality half marathon--complete with medal, tech shirt, and almost two hours of running. The thrifty side of me just thinks that a longer race sounds like a better deal economically. So I end up running only one or two 5Ks a year--one of them is on July 4th, no doubt a hot day and I've already told you what happens to my speed in the summer. I just know not to count on any blazing speed or personal records (PRs) once things heat up around here. So when I checked the weather and saw a forecast low of 50 degrees for this past Saturday morning, I knew that I had to seize the opportunity and see what kind of time I could throw down on a super flat 5K course. Even better--there was a race right here in my little suburb (I love the small hometown race) and it benefited the football program for one of my campuses--how could I let this pass me by! Oh and it was called The Cougar Prowl 5K....best race title ever?

I could not have asked for better race day weather--the forecast came true and it was 50 degrees, sunny, and a slight breeze. We arrived in plenty of time to pick up our race packets and warm up in the parking lot. The crowd was small but very happy and I watched the cross country team warming up minutes before we started. Man...these kids were FAST!! We lined up just behind those kids (not intimidating at all!) and after some directions we were off and running. I don't race enough 5Ks to really know how to pace myself--I just know that I'm supposed to feel like I am on the verge of instant death for the entire 3.1 miles. I took off fast and confirmed this within the first quarter mile when I glanced at my watch and saw a 6:25 pace. No doubt that I would die if I tried to keep that going, so I backed it down just a bit. The course took us on a loop around Five Star Park before putting us back onto some neighborhood streets. This is significant because I used to come to Five Star in back 2008 when I was a brand new runner. It is about a mile around the park and I remember how I would struggle to get around the park without stopping and trying to keep my pace somewhere under 11:00 minute miles for three loops. The first mile beeped on my watch at 7:33 and I took a second to think of how far I'd come in the last few years. I couldn't pat myself on the back for too long though, because I still had 2 miles to go and I was wondering how I could possibly maintain this pace until the end. Once we exited the park the mile 2 marker came pretty quickly (7:52 on my watch) and I got a bit of a mental boost. I knew in just over a mile, hopefully in approximately 8 short minutes, this craziness would be over and I could celebrate a new PR. Things really did get better and I seemed to settle in a bit during mile 3. Yes, it was still really hard and yes, I still felt like I was on the edge of certain death....but I was getting a little more used to the feeling. I COULD really do this!! I got another mental boost when I saw that the course cut through a drive beside the school instead of going back around the way we started. The last mental boost came when I passed a much younger boy just before the final corner. Mile 3 beeped at 7:45 and the finish line was within my sight! A lady who I suspected might be in my age group zoomed by me just before the end, but there was no way I could catch her...that feeling of near death had just been multiplied by 20! And with good reason, according to my watch I ran that last .1 at a 6:47 pace. I crossed the finish line with a huge smile and tried to catch my breath...my goal had been a new PR (old one was 25:01) and I DID IT 24:22 was my final time! It was a great moment to realize that the speedwork and hill runs that I had been doing since January were paying off.

I had been scoping out the competition and had not noticed anyone (except for the lady at the finish line) who looked like they might be in my age group. Erik and I were waiting as they put the results up and I was amazed to see my name in 1st place among women 30-39. Wow. (When I checked the results later I found that I was 9th out of 100 women and 49th out of 196 overall.) It was a perfect storm of opportunity: small race, perfect weather, and flat course....I came with a plan to seize the moment and my plan played out beautifully! It was a banner morning for Team K as Erik placed 3rd in his age group. We had fun talking with a few friends and watching the awards (that cross country kid who won the race...17:39....for real...FAST!). Erik and I were both happy to receive our Cougar Prowl medals (again, best race title EVER) and we wore them proudly as we made our way to the car.