I did it! 5k in under 30 minutes!

My goal for the last month or so was to complete a 5k in under 30 minutes. My last 5k was so tough, and I kind of gave up on my goal of breaking 30. I was so not expecting to do well at today's 5k. My legs were still pretty sore from my 6 mile run on Saturday. I also had chafing to contend with and a lack of sleep. My oldest daughter was allowed to stay up late last night, which turned out to be a huge mistake. She ended up with night terrors until about 4am. I got almost no sleep last night. When my alarm went off this morning I was tempted to sleep in and skip the race. I dragged myself out of bed anyway and tried to clear out all my congestion. I learned from the last 5k to just run the race and try not to obsess over time.

I got to the first mile marker at just under 10 minutes. I was so excited! I realized at that point that I had a chance of breaking 30. I hit mile 2 at 19 minutes even. I got super excited then, even though I knew there was still quite a bit of uphill work to do. I got half a mile from the finish and spotted my awesome friends Mary and Dane and their two beautiful daughters- Alexis and Isabelle! They were cheering their butts off for me, and that's all I needed to finish strong. I rounded the last bend and Dane yelled to me that I could finish in under 30. There was no one else around me, so I took off as fast as my legs would carry me. Once everyone saw me sprinting people around the finish started screaming for me to run! It was an amazing feeling! I finished in 29:45! I crossed the line and broke down into tears. It felt so good to have my friends and all these strangers cheering me on. People were patting me on the back as I passed by and congratulating me on an awesome finish! I was totally overwhelmed by the support.

I am now totally excited about my half marathon in October. I know I can do this!

Happy Labor Day!