Anthem 5k

It was a chilly, 27 degree start with some icy patches on the ground throughout. I got to the race early - around 7ish, to get a decent parking spot and not have to fight the traffic and crowd later on. Met up with the Landsharks for a pre-race photo op at 7:40, then looked around for my gals Jennifer, Ericka and Karen. I found Jennifer, but after an unanswered phone call Ericka and Karen were nowhere to be found, so we made our way to the start line where we hung out for about 5 minutes before the start - pretty darn good timing if you ask me. I had absolutely no particular goal or strategy for this race whatsoever. I had forgotten my Garmin, so keeping up with my pace, time, etc. was going to be impossible, therefore, I decided to "wing it" and run with Jennifer. It was nice to just take it easy, and pace my friend who also didn't have much of a strategy going other than a 4:1 walk break ratio in mind. Healing from some past war-wounds, Jennifer's normal 12-13 min. pace was ideal, but as we took off and got into a good groove (after muddling through all the walkers - grrrr), we were holding steady at just over an 11 min. pace. I was feeling pretty decent, although most of my extremities were still numb at this point from the cold. I never felt winded or that my cardio was getting out of control. It actual felt like a nice little leisurely stroll as Jennifer and I talked and cracked jokes. I had looked at the route ahead of time, so I knew exactly where the turns were - 9th, then 5th, then 8th to Main for the straight shot down the finish. Near the end Jennifer let it be known that she was on pace for a PR, so I tried to encourage a run to the end. After one more short walk break, we headed towards the finish and picked up the pace to come in at 35:26. Although this finishing time is 5:15 slower than my PR from last year, I enjoyed the slower run that allowed me to catch up and pass the time with my gal pal. It was well worth the slower finish to just take it easy with no expectations. In other news: I did a 1500m swim yesterday which, I believe, is my furthest so far. I've found that taking breaks in between the 100 meters actually causes me to feel a bit winded - or, at least, I notice that I'm winded and my heart is racing. I ended up doing the last 500 continuous just to get it over with, and after about 150-200 I fell into a good groove and started to feel comfortable - even having a thought that I've had in my past training, which is "I could do this all day," and I really felt like I could. Maybe it's because I wasn't pushing myself hard enough, but regardless, my stamina and strength felt great and that's all I was really going for on this workout.