Run if You DARE

The DARE Race is one of my favorites for several reasons; it was my very first race, it's in my hometown, and my father is one of the police officers along the course. However, he was not there this year because he was recovering from a recent surgery. It is a relatively flat course that I know very well so I was determined to get a new PR. I started out in front, which I almost never do and I took off as soon as the gun went off. I did the first two miles at a 6:30 pace and I was holding my own as the first place female for the first half of the race. But I was dying and losing speed in the second half. I slowed down quite a bit in the last mile and got passed by a few people, but I was pretty sure I still had a new PR. Turns out I was right because I finished in 21:51 and won second place for my age group. Right after I finished, the sky got dark, it started pouring rain, and a violent thunderstorm started. I stuck around for a little while determined to celebrate my victory, but I ended up getting the heck out of there when I found out about the tornado warning. I haven't done as many races this year as I have in previous years, but the ones I've done have all been PRs so far. Turns out focusing on key races is much more rewarding than racing every weekend.