Melt the Ice

I ran my first 5k of the year on saturday morning. It's called the Melt the Ice 5k. There were only about 300 runners, but this was good because it was on the northcoast inland trail which isn't very wide. I had never been on this part of the trail, sticking mainly to the couple miles around the Clyde area, rollerblading with my girls. This section is really nice. But it has hills!
I have never run a 5k that had hills included, so that was an unexpected suprise that kicked my butt. The wind wasn't very nice either. It was about 37 degrees that morning and I ran with a pair of flannel pants, a t-shirt, and a fleece zip-up. I needed it. Was wishing I had gloves too. Will remember that for next year!
So, the first mile was pretty easy. We were blocked from the wind and my MP3 player was playing some songs to keep my mind focused on something other than my breathing (I am a loud breather when I run and need something to distract me from it so I don't overly focus on it! Im crazy!)
The second mile was a bit tougher. It included all 3 large hills and two bridges over the Sandusky River which was rather chilly crossing. The down and back was in this section and included a tunnel that went under the entrance to the bridge. The tunnel on the way through wasn't so bad. On the way back, however, it became a giant windtunnel and it took everything I had to get through it! There was a couple running in front of me and as soon as they stepped into the tunnel, they stopped running, put their head down and tried to trudge through it. As soon as I hit the massive wind, I leaned into it and seriously grunted like Rambo. It was the longest 200 yards of the race!
The last mile was tough, but there was a good sized crowd cheering us on. I pushed in the last 1/4 mile and actually got photographed by the Elite Runner's Club photographer. Haha! A friend of mine had finished before me and was there cheering me on making me push it even more!
I finished with my best time so far. 5 minutes faster than last years best time. I am still slow compared to most runners, but am making great strides. I know that my next time will be even better and eventually I will be to my goal time of 33min. My finish time this time as 43:02. Not fantastic, but I am still proud. Especially since it was my first "cold weather" race and because I made such great progress from last year.
A guy actually remembered me from races last year and told me I look like a much better runner this year. More relaxed and less huffy-(his exact words! Haha!) Huffy.
I can't wait til my next race in April. Im hoping to finish at 40:00 or better!