Yesterday I ran the second 5K in the Arizona Road Racers Summer Series and - amazingly - was able to make my goal of beating my previous time and moved up in my age group too! I also sported some new gear: visor, sports bra, and shirt.

The race course was through a deserty area on a dirt trail and with hundreds of runners there was so much dust in the air, definitely an unpleasant aspect of the race. I remembered to wear my watch this time but got confused because there was one water station, which I assumed was at the one mile mark, and I passed it when my watch read 8:21. So I thought I was behind my previous pace of 8:09 and was bummed because I was feeling pretty good. Then there was an actual mile marker at 2 miles and I passed that at 15:00 - 7:30 pace! At that point I realized I was on track to beat my old time...but I was also starting to feel fatigued and eagerly wondering when I'd catch a glimpse of the finish line. That last mile always feels so long! I slowed down a bit and lost a lot of the focus I had in the first part of the race. Before the next race I need to practice staying focused and strong all the way through. It's such a mental game! 

Overall, still a great race. Especially because this guy ran with me (he was rocking the blue Nike cap with a blue Nike shirt):

So proud of Chris, he finished in 21:34 and ran a 6:57 pace!

We celebrated with french press coffee and non-vegan breakfast at Liberty Market. Perfect.

Next race is July 4th and it's going to be a 4-miler. I'd love to be able to keep a 7:35 pace, but for 4-miles? We'll see...!