Women's Running Mag 5K race report

Decided to give this race a go earlier in the week as a "warm up" for Turkey Trot. We actually worked the Mad Dog Triathlon Club water stop for this race last year and it was a hoot! I was injured then and on a long journey to healthy running that would be a lot longer than I thought! I was inspired none the less. This year, we have had Turkey Trot 10K on the calendar for a while, it's an annual ritual here (unless injured or out of town) but wanted to blow out the pipes ahead of time, if possible. The Women's Running Half Marathon was a bit much for me but the 5K was just the ticket. Decided mid-week to jump in and take the pain that only an open 5K race can give! And, most of all, I feel healthy enough to just let it all hang and run as hard as I can. Granted, there hasn't been any specific training for this, just running. No interval training, a little bridge work and some longer, slower runs but no track work to speak of. I did do a few 800's this week just for a little turnover work but felt it was too soon to do this even. Got down to St Pete early this morning (after Mad Dog party yesterday where I likely consumed too many beers) and it was a beautiful morning. There were a reported 7000 women (mostly) in the half marathon and 1,200 in the 5K, so, a lot of people roaming around. I had no time goals as this was my first 5k in nearly two years. I wanted to give it to myself and just go hard. Spotted a couple ringers and knew my race was for scraps and training. The Dane was out scouting and being support crew and was awesome on his job! We stood around in the corral forever it seemed so we were all faced with starting a 5K from a resting heart rate......not fun! Got out hard and it sorted out a bit before the first mile with Jackie W killing the field and the rest of us racing for second. I felt like a runner again though, not just a triathlete! The rest of the way until less than a mile to go was myself and two other athletes. I pushed really hard and made a move with less than a mile to go and got a gap on the other two ladies and it HURT! I haven't done this for nearly two years and the pain and suffering is immense! It's easy to talk about what you think you can do but to get into the competitive situation and HAVE to go, another subject! I'm happy that I haven't lost my competitive edge. The finish is a long, straight stretch that can be seen for about 200 meters. I was in a death match and was leading (for second) and didn't want to lose. I had a bit of kick at the end and held on for second when I could have easily been fourth! I'm much happier being second! The time was secondary to the effort as far as I'm concerned although I'm not ashamed with a 20:22 with no real training! I am most happy that I'm back, healthy and can give my all in these sort of races. I want to thank Val from Outspokin who is my awesome sponsor!
Cheers