Monster Dash

Today I ran my first 5k race, the Monster Dash. It is billed as the largest Halloween race in the Upper Midwest. A few friends of mine ran the half marathon, but that was a little beyond my modest goals. I had two objectives in running the race today. First, to get my feet wet as I prepare for the Twin Cities Marathon next year. Second, to finish in under 30 minutes. I did both, finishing in 27:41 by my accounts. I'm still waiting for the official time. Here's what I learned by running the race today:

1. Run to open space. There are so many people massed together at the starting line that it's actually hard to run. I think one of the reasons my pace was so fast (at least for me) is that I was too impatient to run in the pack. I could also see myself tripping over other runners.
2. When not running with my iPod, cow bell is a great motivator. This is funny not only because it's cowbell, but also because I love the SNL skit with Christopher Walken and Will Farrell.
3. Pace is king. It's not how fast you run, but rather how you sustain yourself over the course of the race. I think the adrenalin kicked in today, along with my competitive nature, and I ran a pace that I know I couldn't sustain over a longer distance.

Thank you to Polly, Addie, Mary and Michael for supporting me on this endeavor. I had a blast running today. This goal is not possible without you.

Congratulations to Allison, Gina, Hilary and Jeri for running the half today.

Finally, this is my last sports post on this blog. I will be moving all of my personal posts to the blog Fourth and Goal, which can be found in my blog list in the right column of this page. I will continue to use this blog to post all of my business and tech writings.