Ran the Pepper Martin 5-miler this morning in Staten Island. I wasn't all that excited about doing the race, had the feeling I could take it or leave it. But K & A both were in, so I didn 't want to disappoint. Arrived about an hour early for ther race & quickly met up with some fellow PPTCers. A, B & I warmed up, getting used to the course a bit before making our way to the start.

I tried to run a smart race, which is something that I have been really struggling with. So I tried to take it easy on mile one, but again I came in at 6:45 pace. Definitely was slower on miles two & three, partially because I needed to relax more & partially due to the uphills. The course finished with a 2-mile downhill run, which was really fun. I kept on pushing the pace & almost caught up to a new PPTC, Coco. Almost.

Last year, I ran a 37:28, keeping a 7:30 pace. This year, much better. Very much happy with it. Even if I don't medal.

Distance: 1 mile warmup, 5 mile race at 36:56 with a 7:12 pace, 1/4 mile warmdown
State of Mind: Nice to have a long weekend with the hubs, plus a little bit of running