Got one

Yesterday I ran in the PolarBear 5k road race.
It was a beautiful day in Maine. A bright and sunny Valentine's day.
The race started at 9:00 which allowed me to see the kids before I drove down to Portland for a quick little run.
It was bright and sunny but also pretty cold and very windy. Considering it's February, it really was as good as it can get for racing however.
The run started at my Tri shop. A bunch of my friends were finishing up their long spin class that morning when I arrived. I sometimes join them for that class. It's great....time flies by when biking in a group. I was jealous they were finishing up...I had the same ride the next day. But I'd be alone.

Back to the race.
I warmed up a solid 20 minutes. I was feeling good and my head was in the right place.
I felt crazy doing it, but I positioned myself at the the front of the pack at the start. I had no expectations of staying right in front, but I didn't want to get trapped behind people like I did at the 10 miler a few weeks before.
One, Two, Three...GO! ( no gun, just my friend Nicole yelling Go! Gotta love Maine races. )
Off we went. Down the road into the wind. I counted about 4 guys in front of me. And then, Me. That's it. Ok, where are they? hmmm.
The first mile was essentially one big hill. Well, 3 big hills that filled most of that mile. I barely noticed them. I just held on and tried to suffer suffer suffer. There was no time to let my guard down at all. Push on girl.
Mile one hit and I barely took time to check my watch but I swear it said 6:03. Not sure if that's possible. But, that's what saw. I couldn't hit my split button with my big gloves on so I just kept running.
Every now and then, footsteps closed in on me and I got passed. By men. Hmmm.....what's going on?
Mile 2....still going. Still in front. Where are they?
Ok Ange. Time to start taking this seriously. Was this My race? Woah. I have NEVER won a road race.
I just focused hard on keeping my pace. I was determined not to let myself slow down.
The thing about a 5K, no matter what point of the race you are in, you are alwasy almost done. I mean, you're almost done when it starts! It's a really really short race for us endurance athletes!
I knew I was almost there when we rounded the corner and headed home on the final road back to the shop.
I heard more steps behind me. Do I turn around? I never ever ever turn around in a race. I just focus on going forward. But...I had to know. Was a woman behind me? Was she about to sprint past me at the end?? I could Not let that happen.
So,I peeked.
Another Guy! (working hard not to get girled! ) Ha! love that.
This was MY race!!!
I won!
My big goal for the year is an Ironman. A mere 137.5 More miles than yesterday's sprint fest. But, this still made me feel awesome. It gave me a Huge boost. A little spring in my step as I continue with my winter training.
I had a PR by about 2 minutes. I'll take it.
Next up...PolarBear Sprint Triathlon. I think it's a good omen. My first Tri by the same name as my first win of 2009. Yes, a good omen.
time: 19:35 pace 6:19 1st woman/35 12th OA/210