2009 Show-Me Games 5K

I ran a 3 mile warm-up and had 3 minutes to wait before race started. I was definitely warm and sweaty so glad we started promptly at 8 am. I lined up on the left side of road in the front. I wore my HR monitor for this race since I was curious. In the past HR had been in the 160s during a 5K. I positioned myself closely behind Cesar M. and Clayton H. and stayed with them for the first mile. First mile had a small hill before turning on to South Hampton. First mile was a decent spit at 5:50.

I passed Clayton shortly after first mile and Cesar at about 1.3 mi. I kept pace steady and hoping that I would not get passed. I noticed HR in the low 160s so decided to try to keep it there and pace around 6 min. Second mile split was 6:05 and typically I run 2nd mile a bit slower so I was right on target. We hit the 2nd mile on the outer Providence Rd near Rock Bridge High. Then turned onto Peach Tree and then left at Nifong. I could see a guy ahead of me at this point and I was gaining.

Turned onto Bethel, but there wasn't enough race left to catch him. The last 0.2 was up a slight hill and I pushed pretty hard. Hit mile 3 at 5:48 and last 0.13 at 45 sec (5:35 pace). This race 7 seconds slower than my last PR on a certified course. This course was hillier and weight was up a bit today so that might have slowed me down some and did not taper for the race. I was surprised I placed 3rd overall. I am not sure how many runners but seemed like a really good turnout. I placed 1st in the 40 - 44 age group. Mark K. won overall and the 2nd place guy that I couldn't quite catch was 20 years old.

I really like this course better than the old Show-Me 5K course and it is also nice to run on a certified course.