"Black Cat Chase Run hosted by the Frankfort YMCA and sponsored by Mainsource Bank - An annual, local 5K run/walk around Downtown Frankfort and the State Capitol with festive atmosphere, costumes, music, and fun for all ages and experience levels." -Frankfort YMCA
Since the race is run near the end of October, the race tends to take on a Halloween theme, and many of the runners dress up in costume. I've never dressed up for a race, but I like seeing the all the costumes. Plus Halloween is one of my favorite holidays.
Every year, they take a photo on the Old State Capitol Lawn.
Every year, they take a photo on the Old State Capitol Lawn.
I had been nervous about this race all day. I'm not sure why. Obviously, I can run 3.1 miles. Maybe I was nervous because I have only run 6 miles since I was in Chicago. Maybe I was nervous because I was really worried about what my pace was going to be. Before I began my marathon training, my average pace had been between 10:30-11:00/mile. Toward the end of training, I was running around 12:00-12:30/mile. I think that lots of factors contributed to me slowing down. I think it began with the heat and humidity during summer training, then the fatigue started to set in toward the end of training, and I just got used to my long slow run pace. Either way, I knew I was not going to PR (30:15) this year, and I decided early on that my goal was to finish under 33 minutes, and see if I could push myself the whole way.
After lining up at the start, I tried to get my Nike+ watch set up, but it never got a signal. Irritating! At least I had my Nike+ app on my phone and used that instead. It's not quite as accurate, but at least my run is recorded. I usually use my watch to check my pace, so I basically ran this 5k blind. My strategy quickly changed to, picking out a person who was ahead of me and then attempting to pass them. This worked really well, as we headed up the large hill to circle around the Capitol Building. I was passing people left and right! I continued using this strategy the whole race, and I ended up passing a person who I thought I would never catch! It was tough, but I finished strong. Official time was 31:16!
I'm really happy with my mile splits, especially since I was really unprepared for this race.
After lining up at the start, I tried to get my Nike+ watch set up, but it never got a signal. Irritating! At least I had my Nike+ app on my phone and used that instead. It's not quite as accurate, but at least my run is recorded. I usually use my watch to check my pace, so I basically ran this 5k blind. My strategy quickly changed to, picking out a person who was ahead of me and then attempting to pass them. This worked really well, as we headed up the large hill to circle around the Capitol Building. I was passing people left and right! I continued using this strategy the whole race, and I ended up passing a person who I thought I would never catch! It was tough, but I finished strong. Official time was 31:16!
I'm really happy with my mile splits, especially since I was really unprepared for this race.
I'm also really happy about my overall effort that I put into it. There were many points during the race, that I wanted to slow down, but I never did! So, no, it was not my fastest 5k, but it's a new starting point. I've been thinking about what my next goal is, and I have decided that for now, I want to work on getting faster. I'd like to get my 5k time under 30 minutes. My next 5k is the Thoroughbred Classic on Thanksgiving Day. Can't wait!
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