Louisville Pure Tap 5k Race Report *My First Top Ten!*

I know what you're thinking. You thought race season was over. So did I. But a $20 5k that last year just so happened to be my first race in nearly 2 years had other plans. Here's a couple of things you need to know...

1. Today is my first day off since last Saturday which means I worked a 6 day work week.


2. I also logged somewhere around 60 hours of work this week that was highly concentrated on one day.


3. Prior to this race I'd logged about 37 training miles (almost all on the bike so don't get all excited)


4. Friday night before the race (granted, "only" a 5k) I slept for less than 6 hours.


5. I recognize none of this is particularly extraordinary but for me, it's a big deal.

So, back to the point. I woke up feeling completely terrible and seriously considering just eating the $20 and going back to bed. But this was going to count as my workout for the day which I wanted to do anyway so I decided to suck it up. Actually, that's a lie. I was going to go back to sleep but then The Colonel who was also running got out of bed I knew I was sunk. I drug myself along and somehow made it into the car with my clothes and bib on. We parked and then walked up to the Yum! where I checked my coat. We snapped a quick pic and I danced alone to keep myself awake until the start.

I feel much like I look in this picture, kinda terrible.

We went into the chute for the start and for some reason everyone except for like 10 people got behind us. I could literally see the timing mats at the start. I had no business being that close to the front, especially not in my state. I tried to scoot back but there was a small army of already complaining walkers behind me (Disclaimer: I don't think all walkers are complainers. However, when there is inclement weather such as a cold slightly rainy morning like today, I've come across a lot of complainy walkers. If you are a walker, please consult your fellow clansmen and bring back the proud history of the walker). They also kept repeating that they didn't know why people were taking it so seriously because it wasn't a race. That attitude irritates me. I use the word "race" loosely because I know that I'll never be actually racing, winning or beating anyone but I do have a different attitude for a race and it's an attitude of wanting to do well. I didn't let them bother me and focused more on staying awake and on not focusing on how tired my legs were from work the night before.

Before I knew it they shot the gun which is really loud at the front of the pack. I fist bumped The Colonel and never saw him again until we were done. I moved to the right because I knew I was about to get passed big time. I made the first turn about 100 meters after the start and ran straight uphill onto the bridge. Ugh, I hate bridges. That's why I've never loved racing in Cincinnati. Anyway up I went and there was a turn around after about a half mile. It was weird to still be towards the front and not see hoards and hoards of people heading in the opposite direction after the turn around. I wasn't by the front by any means and after the turn around I think we all started to warm up because the masses arrived. Then I watched them leave. I came back down the hill and off the bridge, made another sharp turn and went down another hill back under the bridges. There wasn't a mile marker until mile 2 which I hit around 21 minutes. I felt ok but not great but was happy with my time so far. I was hoping to do another 9:59 average like I did in the first part of the Komen 10k but knew that wasn't terribly realistic. This was a very unremarkable, uneventful run which is generally how they should be I've found. There was one more big climb to get out from under the bridges then just a straight shoot of about 5 blocks to the finish. I crossed the finish fully exhausted, not from the run really but I just wanted to go to bed. The Colonel snapped a great picture to indicate how I felt.

Eyes closed, half smile, wandering through the finish chute...

I went home and crashed for a few hours then woke up and checked out my results. And that's when I had to get on and write about this for you all! I had a really nice run topped off with *drumroll please* my first Top 10 Age Group finish! It wasn't a huge race but I'm proud! Check it out! 354 total participants and 235 women.

Name:	Rennay Cooke	Division:	F 20-24	City, State:	Louisville, KY
Bib:	3318	Division Place:	7	Total Division:	25
Age:	24	Gender:	F	Gender Place:	69
Overall Place:	129	Chip Time:	34:01	Pace:	10:54/M