Highland Park 5K

Runners - 330
Finish - 16th
Age Group - 2nd
Time - 20:41

Just 14 hours after my first outright race win, I lined up to run the 3rd annual Highland Park 5K. This was going to be my 9th race which I haven't run before. My goal was to run 12 new race this year so I am way ahead of that goal. This was also going to be my 4th 5K in 7 days so I wasn't sure how fast I wanted or could run.

I lined up near the front and planned to run easy for the first mile then take it from there. I felt surprising good, which I think was the adrenaline from the night before when I won the Hugs for Brady 5K. I hit the first mile in 6:45 which was slightly downhill. Since I run with the Raritan Valley members during their Wednesday night run, which takes place in Highland Park, I knew the course had to be somewhat hilly.

I hit the second mile at 13:30 so I was running well and had to push the hills to keep pace. I was still happy to be running that fast. My goal was to pick off a few runners that were in front of me, including a couple of little kids. The finish was at Highland Park High School and on the track. In the past I didn't care about track finishers, but lately I seem to like them. I seem to run faster around the track, thinking it is a track event and on the final turn. I finished in 20:41 which was a solid time considering, I ran a 20:35 the night before.