2006 Bun Run

Today was the annual Bun Run 5k. I met Jay, Marcy, and Rich at the Rock at 7AM for a two mile warmup over to the start. The weather was warm and humid which is a lot different than last year when it was in the 50s and dry. We got to Auditorium shores, did our drills, hit the potties, and then headed to the start. I lined up near the front with Patrick, Rich and Marcy. There was a whole class of grade school kids lined up in the front, so I knew the start was going to be a little crazy. The gun went off and of course we all bunched up around not only the kids, but their parents, and a bunch of other folks who should have lined up in the back. Now that I think of it, this is in the one race every year that has this problem.

Anyway, I headed off hoping for a PR over last year's 20:24, and a real goal of getting into the 19:xx range. I hit the mile mark in 6:27 which wasn't bad given all the traffic at the start. I headed down Cesar Chavez hoping to pick it up a little bit, but it didn't happen. I think the heat and humidity were too much today. I ran the second mile in 6:43. At the turn around under the bridge, I was just hoping to hang on and hopefully place in the Clydesdale group. Mile 3 was even slower at 7:00. I saw Gilbert at the First Street bridge and tried to muster some additional speed, and did the last .1 in 39 seconds which was a 6:30 pace so I did pick up at least for that portion. I finished in 20:50 which was 26 seconds slower than last year.

I ended up winning the Clydesdale division this year, but the RunFar screwed up the results and they gave my award to the guy that came in 4th place. I had to get new results from RunFar and I guess they will mail me the medal...no biggie. I ended up 115th overall which was pretty good and an improvement over last year by 5 spots. By the time the awards hassle was over, most of the folks had left so Jay and I headed back to the rock. I guess a new 5k PR will have to wait...I am a marathoner anyway!

Stats - 7.32 miles with warmup and cool down.