God blessed me with a win and Anne did very well too! A little race recap is below:
Mile 1 - 5:29 pace
I took it out relaxed and sort of watched what some of the other front runners were doing. This was a rather uneventful mile as we were all trying to see where each others fitness was and who was going to try to make the first move. I think I sat in 5th or 6th place at this point.
Mile 2 - 5:22 pace
On the northeast corner of Lake Calhoun just before the 2 mile mark there is a slight hill. As a passed a couple runners as we neared this hill I could tell their breathing was pretty labored, where as I was feeling pretty comfortable. So as we approached the hill I decided to make my move and surge into the lead. I believe I went from 3rd to 1st here.
Mile 3 - 5:30 pace
I was able to hold the lead the rest of the way. I looked back on two separate occasions to see what sort of lead I had as I was starting to feel the faster pace. With about 400 meters to go, I relaxed the pace a little knowing I had the win. I finished with a chip time of 16:58. God blessed me with the fastest 5K I have run in probably 7 or 8 years, so I was pretty happy with my time. Second place was about 1 minute behind.
The winner of the race got this awesome plaque. It is a great reminder of what this event was all about, raising money for those in poverty, the starving. The mud pie on this plaque is made of mud, sugar, and flour; this is what kids will eat once per day.
I run for 3 different reasons; to praise God for the gift of running and be a light to the endurance sport world, to raise money and awareness for poverty and injustice around the world, and for the pure joy God gives me through running. Yesterday I experience them all. To God be the glory!
"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." - James 1:17
