So, it's official now. I'm a real resident of FL and I have the driver's license to prove it! I recently moved to Perdido Key, which is in Pensacola, and I haven't even been here a week, but I love the area already! It's beautiful, has a vibrant down town, and I can already tell that it has a tremendous endurance community.
I signed up for the Run Pensacola race series to find out firsthand what "We Run This City" is all about. The race distances range from 5k to 1/2 marathon, and although I don't typically do that many 5ks (because they're so painful) I figured what the heck, it'll be a good way to force myself to incorporate some speed work. The first race of the 11-race series was this afternoon, with a 2 pm start time.
It was held in down town in a really cool area called the Seville Quarter. I thought it was cute and had quite a bit of character. I did about a 1.5 mile warm up, with some pick ups and drills to get my legs moving. I lined up at the front of the starting line and the cannon went off (literally they shot off a cannon and it scared the hell out of me!) The first mile was a breeze. There was a slight tail wind and I felt great. One of the golden rules of racing is "don't start out too fast," however I think this goes out the window a little bit with a 5k. My first mile was 5:55, a tad faster than I was expecting. As soon as the second mile started things started getting progressively harder. The course turned back into the wind and I felt my legs getting tired. The second mile was the worst, but I knew if I could get through it, then I could carry myself to the finish. Once I hit mile 2, I knew I only had a little more than 6 minutes of pain left and each step was one step closer to the finish line. The course was well-marked & I enjoyed the cheers of the people on the streets. I got to "break the tape" when I crossed the line and my jaw dropped to see that I had run a sub 19! I've never been able to break 19 minutes in the 5k, even when I was doing speed work. My official time was 18:44, a new PR!!! How exciting! I honestly chalk this up to drinking a boatload of Beet Performer Beet Juice this week. I moved from Panama City Beach to Perdido Key and had nothing in my refrigerator for the last few days except for 2 cases of beet juice, so I probably consumed an inordinate amount! See my blog on beet juice for how it can make you faster & if you want to try it for yourself use the code "martine6" to get 15% off your order at amazon.
Congrats to all finishers and can't wait for the next Run Pensacola race!!!
