Cotton Row came through again, though, with a personal best of 28:51!! I broke 29 minutes for the first time ever (last year at this race was the first time I broke 30:00). The actual "gun time" was 29:20, but I'll have to explain that in a minute...
So, it was a really, really hot day already when we lined up to run at 9am (the 10K ran at 7am, which explains the late start for the 5K).
Headphones aren't allowed in the race, but they've loosened up on personal electronics meaning I could wear my iPhone and use the Nike+
app (plus the sensor in my shoe) to help track my pace.
And just one more shot here before the race got started, just so I can show off my favorite new geeky shirt from Threadless...
It's called "Doctor Hoo," and if you're familiar with any of the incarnations of The Doctor, then these guys may look familiar to you...
I'd say they pegged Tennant's (the tenth Doctor's) hair perfectly.
Anyway, back to the race. :)
There were more than 1800 entrants, so Darren had a really, really hard time picking me out of the crowd at the start. At least he knew that I wouldn't be one of the guys right out front!
Actually, I started waaaaay too far back. I forgot that the start banner was actually behind the start line, so I was near the back of the pack. It took me 29 seconds just to get to the start line, which is when the chip on the back of my bib number registered a start (thus the difference in my clock time and gun time).
Darren finally did pick me out of the crowd, though. :) He's such a good sport for hanging out for these races and taking pictures for me.
So obviously I didn't finish as quickly as this guy (who won) did...nor did I look as happy when I crossed the finish line.
Instead, I looked something like this...
Yeah, I was just a little hot and winded. And in need of Gatorade.
Darren said he totally forgot to get a shot of the clock as I crossed the line, which is no big deal since all the results are chipped and posted online, anyway. But he did snag this one about ten seconds later. I crossed the finish with a big crush of people, so the poor guy had a hard time finding me all around.
As good as Cotton Row is to me, last year I came awfully close to that same time again last July at the 5K I run in my old hometown. It's definitely the most challenging course that I've run so far (several big-ish hills where Cotton Row is really flat), and it'll be interesting to see what my time is like there this year.