Pre-Race Photo of Kali, me and Alicia (photo by @Hansmatic)

The thing that surprised me the most about running my first 5K in July was how much I enjoyed running. So after Run for the Pierogies, I decided I wanted to keep up with it and started asking around for other race recommendations. 

When Alicia told me she was going to celebrate her one-year anniversary of running with this morning’s Cleveland Clinic 5K in Independence, how could I say no?

I confess that as much as I enjoyed running, I fell off the training wagon a bit after Run for the Pierogies.  Between a horrible sinus infection that put me out for a week and other projects picking up, I was having problems finding time.

That’s why, when Scott and I woke up early this morning to drive out to Independence, I didn’t think I’d beat last time’s PR of 42:23.5. I had done a little treadmill running at the gym and crammed a few 5ks into this last week leading up to the race. However, that didn’t fill me with too much confidence and I figured I’d be happy if I beat 45 again.

I was beyond surprised when I got home this afternoon after a Yours Truly post-race brunch, looked at the race results and saw a finish of 40:47.88 — an improvement of more than a minute and a half!

Sean, who’s been a most-excellent personal trainer for the last few years, had told me I’d do better the second time around but I wasn’t so sure.  That’s why he’s the professional, though.

My next goal?  Beating 40 minutes by my next 5K. And after comparing Hermes’ race schedule to the vacations and weddings we have coming up in the next few months, I think I found the one I want to do: the MidTown Cleveland Classic on October 15.

With proceeds going towards MidTown Cleveland beautification projects and a post-race keg and eggs party, I’ve even convinced Scott to run!  I guess it’s time to get back to training.

Thanks to Team Poise in Parma, Team FinishingFirsts and Scott for the support and photos when I crossed the finish line.

Have any upcoming 5Ks you’d like to recommend or plan on running the MidTown Classic in October? Leave a comment below!

Crossing the finish line with a new PR (thanks to Alicia for the photo)