Today was the Ivland 5k. Ivyland is a bit more than a stone's throw away from me so I got up at 6am to make the 45 minute drive out there. I had some toast with peanut butter and a banana for breakfast, hoping that would give me enough energy to make it through.

I arrived with plenty of time to spare and picked up numbers for my Dad and I. Mom and Dad (and Uncle) showed up a little later and we hung out for a bit talking about why the 1-mile run is called the fun run. Is that to imply that a 5k isn't fun? Then we wondered if the fun-runners got first dibs on the post-race pancake breakfast!

We took our places towards the middle of the pack and waited for the race to begin. As usual, I got caught up at the start of the race going out way too fast, but I caught myself and slowed things down a little bit. My goal was to go out at around an 8:30 - 8:45 for the first mile. I think I ended up doing like a 7:30 or 7:40, which was a little surprising but I felt good so I decided to stick with it for as long as I could.

I kept my Uncle and my Dad in my sights the whole time. I think I passed my uncle close to the 1 mile mark, and starting making progress on my Dad. I think at about the 1.75 mile mark I passed him. Keep in mind that I haven't beaten my Dad legitimately yet. Usually he just runs with me the entire race (even though I'm slower than him) and let's me win when we get to the finish. Once I passed him, my goal was to keep everyone that I passed behind me, and I almost succeeded. One kid blew by me around the last corner.

As a sidenote, a couple of posts back I was complaining about my lack of speed. Well, I think I know where it went...my Nike+!! I really need to calibrate that thing. This is the second 5k in a row that it reported as only being 2.79 miles. That's 10% off! No wonder my training paces are slow.

Anyway, I managed to keep my pace up, it helped that the course was relatively flat. There were some hills but nothing like what I deal with around here. Also, the weather was beautiful. Especially for a mid-August day.

Even though my final time of 22:59 wasn't my APB *, this was the best I've felt during a race. I started out at a decent pace and was able to stay with it (or even possibly increase it) throughout the race and I didn't totally die at the 2.5 mile mark like I usually do.

I'm not sure when the next 5k is. Probably the Nether Providence Run for First Responders in October. That's a pretty flat course too, maybe I can get down into the 21s!

* APB - Adult Personal Best
Since I ran XC in high school and my 5k times were in the 18s, it's doubtful I will ever again achieve a Personal Best. So I invented the Adult Personal Best, or APB. This way, I can still get a Personal Best without actually having to run an 18:03 or whatever! Soon, I will have PB categories for individual years/months/etc! Anything to get a PB!

UPDATE: I know it's ridiculous that I'm so proud that I beat two 60-year-old+ men. Whatever. Let me enjoy my "victory".