Here's my race report for the Rumshaker 5k.

I pulled this stat from the website; Our official race numbers were 3,294 participants and with your help we raised approximately $126,314.30!     

Short Story; skip to the bottom for the summary.

Longer; this is my 2^nd year to run this race, and as long as I am capable, I will continue to run this race. This race will always be special to me because I am a colon cancer survivor, and the proceeds go to colorectal awareness. This is a very preventable and curable type of cancer; IF, it is caught early, so get your colonoscopy.

We had to get up at 4:00 am to make about a 70-80 minute drive down to Birmingham, Alabama. I had some oatmeal and a couple cups of coffee. The coffee done it’s magic, and we were on the road by 5:10 am. I needed to be there to pick up my packet and to meet up with Jimmy and Greg. The plan was for the 3 of us to do about a 1.5-2.5 mile WU, then take off and meet up afterwards. It ended up being Greg and me doing the WU, then Jimmy caught up to us at the start line after he done his own WU.

My goal for this race was to break 23:30. This is a very flat course with one long overpass that you cross twice. The field showed 1064 that paid for chip timing, and there were at least this many more that didn’t care about the timing. They had a corral system this year, and they were marked, less than 24, 24-29, 30 or greater, and walkers. We all lined up close to the front, maybe 6-8 deep, and off we went. The front of the pack did pretty well and placing themselves in the correct position, as there was not much dodging. I remember hearing 7:27 when we crossed the mile 1 mark (Garmin had 7:37), and I was right with Greg, and I thought Jimmy was right on my tail. As we got into the 2^nd mile, Greg started pulling away from me, and I couldn’t stay with him. Looking back, I say BS! I’ll say more about this later.

There was no timer at mile 2 that I seen or heard, but my Garmin had 7:45. It was pretty uneventful through this mile. As we got into the 3^rd mile, I felt like I was just cruising and not pushing myself. Mile 3 came in at 7:37, and the lat little bit at 5:57. My Garmin had the course at 3.06, as did Jimmy and Greg. It is a certified course though, so I’m calling it 3.1

I have just started getting my feet back under me from dealing with PF all last summer, and running a full in December that I was under trained for. I wanted this to be a test. I am training for an April 5 half, and wanted to push myself. When I crossed the finish line, Greg caught me and we run a 1.5 mile CD. I was not sore in the least little bit, and feel as though I recovered too quickly…..so, push harder stupid! I was happy with my splits though, as I usually fade pretty bad in the 2^nd mile. 7:37, 7:45, 7:37, 5:57.

I have a few pics, a couple that my wife took, one from the official photographer that I will be buying, and one that a nice gentleman took for us. The medal around my neck is something they handed out to all the survivors.

This is a me putting my sign on the Recognition Wall.

Me and Mrs. hog4life

And here's the official race photo that I'll be buying.

There was one thing that made me a little sad about this event. I had made plans for weeks in advance to have lunch with Jimmy, his family and friends, but I had to break our lunch date, and I felt bad about it. Some of you know, and some may not, but my wife has Fibromyalgia. There are days that totally wipe her out, and this was one of them. After getting up so early, and having a busy couple of days prior to race day, she was exhausted and just wanted to be alone. As we were getting in the car, she made the statement to me that she feels very alone while I’m running, and wished she would not have come(not good). We had made a hotel reservation to spend the night, and do some shopping before heading home, so we went to the room and just hung out.

Thanks for reading,

Mitch

Time: PR of 23:14, 7:29 pace

AG: 9/38 (50-54)

OA: 131/1064

Gender: 110/445

Great work, Hog. Those splits are nice, the medal is nice, you have nice pics, it's all very nice. That must have been cool to get a PR in a race that means a lot to you. Way to go and keep it up!

Mitch, congrats on the PR!  I know that one's been a long time coming for you.  Great splits, too!  I do think it's hard to find that extra gear for a 5K when we've been focused on HM training.  That's a great race photo, too!

I'm sorry that your wife was having such a bad time.  I've talked to DH, and he pretty much only comes out for my goal races.  The rest of the time they sleep in.  But they are willing to hear probably more than they ever wanted to know about it later.

Great job, Mitch! Congratulations on running a strong race and getting a new PR! Thanks for sharing the RR and pics.

Eric

Congrats on the PR! That's a really great race photo, as well. You make it look so easy.

Great job on the race, and I LOVE that official picture of you!  What a great shot!!

So sorry about your wife, I'm sure it's hard for her to be happy for you when she's not feeling well.  You're a good husband to change your plans and spend time with her.

Congrats again on the race and the PR!!

Congrats on your PR, you're getting pretty speedy these days!

Will be thinking of your wife. I know fibromyalgia is tough.

Nice quads.