Today's 5K was organized by a volunteer fire department that a fellow triathlon club member works for and it's only five miles from my house, so I jumped on the chance to run it since I like racing.  The race awarded trophies to top three in each gender (no AG), and I thought maybe I'd have a chance since I'm usually top 5 to 10 in these small races and I've been running so well lately.  I've come to accept that there is always someone faster than me, so winning the race wasn't something I gave much thought to.  My goal was to take a shot at sub-19.

I got there really early so I'd have time to settle in and do my two mile warm up.  My warm up wasn't great.  Sub-19 went pretty much out the window during my warm up.  My legs felt heavy and tired, which I blame on blowing them up on my Monday-Wednesday workouts (no regrets though).  After my sluggish warm up, I figured I just wanted to run a good race.

I saw some familiar faces before the race, said hi, chatted a bit, and lined up on the front row, front and center.  A few guys looked like trouble, but I didn't see any of the local speedsters who I know could beat me.  The horn sounded and off we went.  I always line up at or near the front, and a few guys always bolt ahead, never to be see again.  Today though nobody did.  There were four guys a few steps ahead of me early on, but just a quarter mile into the race, I charged out in front since it was there for the taking.  This was the third time I've ever lead a race.  Today felt different though because I wasn't running hard yet and I thought, "Maybe..."

2.5 miles of this race was uphill.  Nothing terrible, but it seemed constant.  We hit the only tough hill early on, and at that point I started to pull ahead a little.  The footsteps behind me got quieter (I don't race with headphones so I can hear this stuff).  Suddenly I was running alone.  I figured someone would eventually catch me, but I wasn't going down without a fight.  My first mile was 6:24.  Slower than I was hoping, but my mindset had changed from "race the clock" to "win the race."

Water station volunteers at the halfway point were helpful, not for the water, but so I could tell how far behind #2 was.  There were a fair bit of delay between them clapping for me until I heard them clapping again for the next person.  I had built a lead.  This was so unfamiliar to me.  Mile two was 6:14.  Better.  As I took a right back onto the main road, I glanced behind me and didn't see the next person.  I figured he was there in my blind spot somewhere.  Meh...keep running hard and make someone beat me.  Course marshal said "Great job. You're going to win this!"  WTF does he know.  There was still a lot of race left and my final kick sucks.

Mile three felt like mile three of a 5K, with the added pressure of a possible race win added to the mix.  Another course marshal told me I was all alone.  I felt all alone too.  Things are quiet up there.  No runners, no noise, no cars (closed road), just me and my pain.  I was trying to listen for close footsteps but I heard nothing.  I got to a quarter mile to go and a volunteer told me I was all alone.  I appreciated that, and at that moment I cracked a smile and gave a gentle fist pump.  Mile three buzzed off a 6:15.  Sweet.

The small crowd was clapping and ringing cowbells as I approached the finish line.  I was smiling and pumping both fists, taking a few seconds to enjoy the moment.  I took a left into the school parking lot, hit the finish line, and couldn't believe I just won a race.  I thought I'd never see the day.  I got my little finisher's medal, shook my friend's hand, then looked for the second place person.  Nowhere in sight.  What the heck?  He finally came in, 35 second behind me.  I congratulated him and #3, then went right to my car to call the wife.

Race time was 19:30, on an unexpectedly tough little race course.  It's not world class speed, but I'll gladly take the race win since all I can do is race who shows up.  It's my third best 5K time, so I'll take that too.  The field was 138 runners...about average for a small local race 'round these parts.  It was such a cool experience to win a race.  It may not ever happen to me again, but it's awesome to have gotten to do that at least once.

I hung around and talked to other runners after the race.  It's weird how many people wanted to chat with me, offering congrats and just shooting the breeze.  Good stuff.  I collected my trophy, then ran 7 more miles.

The irony is not lost on me that I would not have done this race if I actually made into the Boston Marathon this year.  This was one hell of a consolation prize.

You are crazy fast! Congratulations on the OA win, that’s awesome!

Congratulations!  That's one heck of a race, and one hell of a trophy.  You earned it.

Nice job. I have been first OA female a few times and never gotten a trophy like that! holy cow!

lol - It's bigger than all of the trophies combined. 🏆

Awesome win! Definitely a race you'll never forget...because you have a trophy larger than a child. Lol

I like that: small race, big trophy.

That's just awesome!  I can only imagine how it might feel.

Very nice! OA win! THAT has gotta feel good.