Gen runs like hell!

The Freaky 5k I did on Saturday had "Run for your life!" as its tagline, but a friend tells me that it used to be "Run like hell!" and have zombies on the tshirt.  Though I'd love a tshirt that says "run like hell!" on the front, I have a bit of an issue with zombies, so I'm happy with the little running skeletons on the swag shirt I got.  The Freaky 5k is part of the Pittsburgh Marathon series, apparently, and Haakan had it on my training plan, so I thought what the hell.  The fun part is that it was a costume 5k, and Haakan and I both had the bright idea that I should go as Wonder Woman, so after I was unable to find a Wonder Woman costume that actually fit me properly, I went low rent and wore a red top, bright blue crops, a red cape, and pinned the Wonder Woman symbol to my chest (printed out about 2 minutes before I left the house, since, you know, I like to plan ahead and all that).

The race was in North Park and Google maps had me going with weirdest way, but it worked and I managed to find the race in fairly decent time.  I had a little mini panic attack as I drove through the park because I remember the route from the Just a Short Run that I did in March of 2009 and really wasn't feeling a repeat of the 5k portion, which went up a wicked hill, but it was a pretty flat course.  The costumes were fabulous!  I saw a Sarah Palin, complete with bump hairdo and American flag, a guy doing a "beer run" with a case of beer and a two headed baby in a Baby Bjorn, and a bunch of other super heros, among others.  A few people looked like they were there to run seriously, but the guys who came in first and second were dressed like Mr Incredible and a caveman in a spotted loin cloth, so who says you can't run fast in a costume!

The race started right on time, and boy was it cold!  I was in a tank top and my hands were numb before we even started (gloves would be a good idea for next year), but I found myself near the front pretty quickly.  It was an out and back at the beginning of the course, and it became clear pretty early that a lot of people were just going to walk it.  Which was nice for me because it meant my stats would be pretty good.  Maybe a half mile in I looked down at the Garmin and realized that I was doing around an 8 minute mile, which is ridiculous and unsustainable for me, but I had a hard time pulling it back and I took a walk break when I got to the water station around the 1 mile mark.  I went back out, and again, the pace was too quick and I took a break again right around the 2 mile mark.  At that point I could see the turn where we'd head back to the skating rink where the finish line was, so I thought I might as well finish strong.  I also saw another Wonder Woman and I really wanted to pass her.  With a quarter mile left to go I checked my Garmin and found that I was well under where I thought I'd be and that amazingly I might have a chance to PR.  I crossed the finish line with Batgirl and another super hero and set a new PR of 26:39, which was good enough for 12th in my age group.  I thought I might place a little higher, but there were some speedy chicks in there!

I got Batgirl and the Wonder Woman I passed to snap a picture of me before I left.  I think I'll run all of my races with a cape from now on, since it obviously is to blame for my speed and pacing issues!