When your morning warm up looks like this…
I feel like your race is bound to be a success!
A few weeks ago, Callie mentioned that her and her husband Nate were going to be running a local 5k soon. I looked at my schedule, saw that I did not have a 20 mile run on tap for that weekend, and agreed to run the race!
Their favorite breakfast spot, Harvey’s 4th Street Grill, was sponsoring the race. We went there after the Rock N’ Roll St. Pete Half Marathon, and have been hooked ever since! Seriously, if you are in the St. Pete area, check it out! Best Sunday Bruch Ever!!!
We showed up early to the race site in downtown St. Pete to register, since I missed the deadline for online registration. Parking and signing up was a breeze, and it was go time before we knew it!
The course was a pretty standard one for downtown. A quick run by the Vinoy, followed by a nice loop on the pier. If the wind is strong, the pier is usually pretty rough, but Saturday there was not much wind to speak of. Win!
Everyone came out in the St. Patrick’s Day best – there was green as far as the eye could see!
Thanks for the pic Callie!
I lined up at the front of the pack at the start, and we were off. Since it was a local race, there were a few hundred participants, so the field was pretty small. It was pretty simple to get to the front with the guys, and I used their energy to pull me along. I passed through the first mile at 6:18, which is definitely a bit fast for me. Since I am currently training for a marathon, I am definitely running closer to the 7:30 pace in my tempo and pace workouts – not 6:18′s.
Mile 2 was closer to 6:30 and the third mile rounded out to around 6:48. I definitely went out too fast, but what can ya do? I wanted to see what my legs were capable of while marathon training. I crossed the finish line at 20:43 – not too bad. I wasn’t thrilled with the time, but I can not expect to run fast without training at a faster speed. That’s for sure.
The whole time I was running, I was pretty sure I was in first place. I could see from the very beginning that there were not any women ahead of me, and I knew no one passed me. So needless to say, I was a bit surprised when I finished and was told that I was the second overall finisher. No worries – I guess someone was just much much further ahead of me than I thought.
Backing up real quick….something else happened Saturday that was a big deal – Callie crushed her previous 5k time and walked away with a big PR!! Callie is really tearing it up, and I think she is really starting to find her pace and ways to challenge herself! Congrats Callie, your hard work is really paying off!
Ok, fast forwarding again…. after a bit of drama and chatting with the officials, I was told that I was in fact the first woman to cross the finish line 
Yep, I had just won my very first 5k race! Such a fun thing to be told! Soon after we cooled down, it was time for the awards ceremony! I was called up as the winner of the race, and got a nice award for winning the 25-29 age group, as well as the Overall Female Award as well!
After they announced both the male and female winners, they let us in on a little surprise. The winners get the opportunity to be a part of the Grand Prix Illuminated Night Parade this coming Thursday. For those of you that do not know, St. Petersburg hosts the Grand Prix every year, which is an Indy Car Race. It is a big deal to the city, and this parade pretty much kicks everything off. I am pretty excited to be a part of the parade – such a random prize, but hey – I’ve seen so many, but I’ve never been in one!
After heading to Harvey’s for breakfast, we came home, showered up, and we were off to our next adventure of our St. Patty’s day! Downtown Tampa had a big celebration in the park, hosted by the Mayor. They dyed the Hillsborough River green, and it was quite the sight! There was live music, food trucks, and lots of beer (none was green though – somewhat of a bummer). Tampa has made some major strides in our city culture, and this is just one of many events that the city has blown out of the water.
We had such a fun day with some really great people. I think the luck of the Irish was with me this year! What about you?
Huge congrats!!! That is SO awesome and some killer speed, especially for marathon training. Wow! And how neat to get to be in a parade.
Thanks Tina
I am so excited for Thursday!
CONGRATS!!!
The last photo is so cute. You look fantastic! Love Toms
Thanks Caitlin! I looovvvee my Tom’s! I feel like I want to get them in every color
Congratulations! That’s so exciting. We did a race in Land O Lakes on Saturday. It was definitely a good day for a run! Congratulations again – very cool!
Thanks Melissa! I’m glad you had a good race too!
Congrats on your win!! Especially since you haven’t been speed training, that was a great result
Can’t wait to read your recap of the parade!
Thanks Lynda! I can’t wait!
I am SO proud to know you! Oh and I fully plan on making the Mini Athlete stay up late on Thursday night so can come watch you in the parade.
I love that! I feel so lucky to see you all 2x in one week!!
Awesome Job Mary! Congrats
Congratulations, Mary! I would say the Luck of the Irish was on your side!!
WOW!! Isn’t that the best feeling!! Congrats on a great race!
It was definitely fun!!
congrats! You are SO speedy! I would be thrilled to run anywhere within like…5 minutes of that! lol! WTG.
Thanks Heather
I’m sure you can definitely run within 5 min of that!
rock on girl!!!!!! good stuff
Thanks Ericka!
you are amazing!!!!! congrats!!
Thanks Lindsay! It was a fun day!
Congratulations on your awesome win Mary! I saw you coming into the finish line as I was still headed towards the pier…you looked fierce!
ok i love that you didn’t think it was that speedy and you were in first
congrats!!
Congrats, Mary! That is unbelievable!! Isn’t it crazy how much faster our bodies can go than we think they can? Hope you enjoy Thursday! Can’t wait to see pics!
Thanks Michele! I will definitely take some fun pics!
Wow, congrats on such an awesome 5k in the middle of marathon training!! You are super speedy… enjoy that post race high!
Congrats Mary! That is awesome that you won. Sounds like you had a great weekend.
And that view…WOW so beautiful!
I know! When I saw it warming up, I knew I had to snap a quick picture!
SO exciting! Congratulations
Thanks Meredith!
Congrats, that is so awesome!!! I’d say you had a good weekend
Thanks Beth!!
LOVE IT! Congrats on an awesome race! Have fun at the parade tomorrow!!