Race Report: Susan B. Anthony 5k

Sometimes, race day comes, I am unprepared, and things go poorly. My inner pessimist usually expects this to happen, no matter what my training. Sometimes, the opposite happens, and I get to enjoy the unexpected success.

Being on the race planning committee for the Buffalo Chips own Susan B. Anthony 5k, I've been excited for this race for months. I have not been training for it, however, and actually went into the race not having run at all in two weeks, and having stopped speedwork maybe a month ago. Needless to say, I wasn't expecting much.

To top of my expected perfect storm of bad performance, I haven't gotten back to a normal sleeping schedule since my awesome roadtrip, and my Garmin decided to die this morning. Yes, it was charged to 100% this morning- it just didn't work.

I wasn't expecting a great performance, so I decided to just keep up a steady pace, try to follow someone I know who is about my speed, and just see what I can do on my lack of race-specific training and other circumstances.

I was amazed to actually feel great during the race- no side cramps like at the Women's Fitness Festival. I came across the line in 22:20, just 13 seconds shy of my June PR, and even in this heat (85 degrees maybe). To top things off, the time was good for third in my age group, and let me tell you, the award gift bags Carol and everyone coordinated are awesome!

Most of all, it was great to see so many women and girls out running, having friendly competition, and having fun. This really is a great event for the running community, and I'm happy to be a part of it.