The Honor Connor 5k 2018 Race Recap

I signed up for the Honor Connor 5k a few weeks ago.  This was before my family and I decided to drive to Fern Lake in East Texas for Memorial Day Weekend.  The race took place 35 minutes west of our house while the lake house was 3 hours east of our house.  Funny, right?  I enjoy experiencing new events and racing in different places, so the extra hour of driving was really no big deal.

I arrived in North Richland Hills at 7 a.m.  The race start was at 8:30, so I sat in my car and listened to music for 30 minutes before beginning my warm up.  2 miles easy and some strides.  I thought my warm up was short enough to keep me from pouring out sweat before the start of the race, but I was wrong.  After strides, the sun shone with vengeance, and beads of sweat began to form.

From the beginning of the race, I felt off.  6:30 pace felt hard.  I was out of breath from the start.  Earlier in the week, I ran 20 200s at 5:30-6:00/mile and focused on running fast versus running hard.  I did not feel fast for this 5k.   When this happens, I give it all I’ve got and whatever time I end up with is the time I end up with.  After about 200 meters,  I was the female leader, so instead of focusing on my pace and new PR, I focused on holding my place as top female and on passing as many people as I could before the finish.

My splits…. Mile 1. 6:27.  Mile 2.  6:36.  Mile 3.  6:40.  Finish.  5:30/mile pace.

1st Overall Female.  20:24.

After the race and after my 2 mile cool down, I planned to pick up my award early so I could start on my way to the lake.  However, they put on such an awesome Post Race ceremony that I had to stay.  I knew I would have regretted bowing out early.  The performance by Trey Griffith, the fastest Cup Stacker in Texas was amazing.  I was blown away by his speed and accuracy.

Shortly after Trey’s performance, the Overall Winners were called up on stage.  We were wrapped in a smiley face flag (or cape), and awarded with a crystal plaque, a before/after coffee mug, a smiley face spatula, and some inspirational quote cards.

I had a great experience at the Honor Connor 5k.  It was a truly inspirational event.

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