2011 Blarney Stone 5K – Race Recap

Hooray for the first race of the season! Hooray for the first race of the year!

I have run the Blarney Stone 5K for the past few years, and I always look forward to it. It marks the beginning of Spring and what I consider to be the beginning of running season! Plus, it's a fun run that gets lots of people together in a really festive atmosphere. There are costumes, a DJ, pizza, and beer. And it's in the evening, so no early race-day wake up calls.

Check out my sweet luck...

I got assigned bib number 17 for Paddy's Day! Luck o' the Irish, eh?

We had a gorgeous day for the race, aside from strong winds. It was chilly waiting for the start, but once we were moving it felt good.

The race went great! I didn't want to put too much pressure on myself since I've been rehabbing my knee, so about a month ago I set a goal of running it in under 30 minutes. But after a couple of good running weeks, I decided to challenge myself to running each mile in under 9 minutes. And that I did!

• Mile 1 - 8:30
• Mile 2 - 8:28
• Mile 3 - 8:35
• Mile 3.1 - 0.53

My overall time was 26:26, or an 8:31 pace. I was very happy with that! It was faster than last year's race, but about 50 seconds over my 5K PR, which was set at the Cinco de Mayo 5K last year. All in all, a great way to start the racing season!

Did you do anything to celebrate St. Patrick's Day? Kate's Mom made an Irish feast of corned beef, cabbage, and potatoes. I also had a couple Guinness, but I left the hardcore partying up to my friends.