Another year, another 4th of July 5k. It's always a hot race, but it's good to be forced to get in a run on a holiday. And let's be serious, I had to show off my A. Ham shirt.
It was cooler than I expected actually, but the humidity was at 87%, which made it gross and sticky. The first mile was in the park, which was mostly shaded, until the last 1/4 mile. I started with my 5 minute walking warmup, which meant tons of people passed me. But I felt strong and was trying to keep a good pace with my :45/:30 intervals. The second mile was mostly in the sun, on the road circling the park, but it wasn't too bad.
There were water stops about every mile, but I only took from the 3rd one to throw water on my head. I had my own water bottle and was drinking from that. After mile 3 started we were back in the park. I felt a little tired, but kept up my pace.
I started passing some of the people that passed me at the start.
Once I turned the corner to the finish line, I pretty much ran the last .1 mile. I really tried to run fast at that point and finish strong. I thought I would be a little faster than I ended up being, but it has been faster than any of my other runs lately.
The crazy humidity definitely slowed me down, and sweat was dripping everywhere.
But I grabbed a cup of water (a bottle would have been much appreciated at this point), and got in the beer line. It was great that the beer was from a local brewery. Went to grab some fruit, but it was just bananas and oranges. I was looking forward to a piece of watermelon, like they had last year.
Glad I got out there and got in my run. I even saw some friends out there running too. Next race is the Labor Day 5k. Fingers crossed it's overcast.
