First 5 miler done

ZooZoom in Baltimore yesterday morning. Around 480 runners or so. 12th of 29 in my age group. 146th overall. 43:49. Many hills. Highlight was getting passed by what I was sure was a 4 year old about halfway through the run. Made me grumpy and I caught her and her Dad on the next hill up. They dashed by me again with about a mile and a half to go. I never caught up with them again.  Looked at the times today and discovered she was actually 9. I'm gunning for her at the Turkey Trot next week if she dares to show her face again.

Dan, Wow - you made great time!!  Congratulations! Mary

Thanks Mary. It was hard to tell where we were in the run. They didn't have mile markers posted at all. I was just guessing for the most part. Would've been nice to have splits or at least an indication of how far you've come/have to go. Such is life for these things I guess. Some will be more sophisticated than others. All in all another good day.

Great job Dan and a great time. Just a small step up to a 10k now.  I hate getting passed by the young people, but I hate tripping over them even more. Have fun at the Turkey Trot. Rob

Thanks Rob. It was a bit of a surreal experience getting passed by her. Running along. Feeling good. Passing a couple of high school kids and then she flies past. A good moment to remind myself I'm not in it for the times or any award. Finishing is definitely it's own reward.

Wonderful and inspiring news, Dan! . . .and no reason to be civil ("Finishing is its own reward," etc.); crush the competition next race. . . ~Erin

Oh, believe me. If that little girl gets in my way again she's going down. I could've taken her Dad in a second.

Brilliant strategy - eliminate them one by one until you get to the alpha. . .

Great job and Great Time! Amazing how we become so competetive. My last 5k I had 2 little skinny mini's that kept walking and then they would run really fast to pass me, then of course I would catch up and then they would run and pass me. By their conversation I assumed they were gunning for me, so I then made my goal to beat them. I kept my pace the entire race and I eventually got about 3 blocks ahead and I knew I was in the clear. I may have been about 100lbs more than them but my endurance paid off.  Go get that 9 year old and kick some butt. She'll never know what flew past her! Liz

It is interesting how the competative juices get flowing. Here's to healthy competition and achievable running goals!