10 Minute PR for a 4 Miler??

I've only done one 4 mile race and that was the Westport St. Patrick's Day 4 mile run in 2011.  My finish time was 51:56 a 12:59 pace.

Me & my friend Michelle pre-race, apparently I am very, very happy about running!

This past weekend I attempted this race again with a finish time of 41:48 a 10:28 pace!  That's an over 10 minute PR, pretty awesome for 4 miles.

Well, I have to admit, I was recovering from a back injury in 2011 and I walked a lot of that race....but still it was good to see this time.  It was especially good to see this time because I have been running SOOOOO SLOW lately...even slow for me.  By last fall I was easily running in the 10s, but lately I've been lucky to be in the 11s and 12s.  So, I was super happy with my final time.

The Westport St. Patrick's Day Run is a Kansas City tradition.  It's a great race and one where almost everyone is dressed up or at least wearing green.  It's a fun atmosphere and starts and finishes in Westport which is a quaint little part of KC full of local bars and other eclectic stores.  After the race the bars fill up.  It's about the only time you'll find me with a beer at 11 in the morning! 

Rachel, Me & Michelle - gotta love the porta potty shot

They were calling for rain all morning the day of the race, so I wasn't too excited about running in 45 degree temps with rain.  But, luckily the rain held off and it actually ended up almost feeling hot!

I went to the race with my friend Michelle and then we met up with her friend Rachel.  I ran with Rachel, who had recently had knee surgery and was doing her first race post-surgery.  She is speedy but decided to run with me so she wouldn't go out too fast.  I told her I was super slow, but she wanted to run slow me me she said.

The 3 of us with our St Pattys Day Good Luck Clovers

Even though this race is fun, it's also HILLY!  I mean hilly and your first couple of miles feel like they are pretty much straight uphill.  The gun goes off and we start and immediately start climbing.  I'm already winded, but pushing along.  We hit mile 1 and I look at my Garmin and I'm at my 5K PR pace.  I am out of breath and I know I can't maintain this pace.  I tell Rachel to go ahead, she smiles and says "No, this is a great pace I'm fine".  I want to tell her, but it's not a great pace for me I'm dying, but I don't have the breath.  I keep up with her for about another half mile and then I start lagging behind.  I see her look back for me in the crowd and I motion her to go on.  I know there's no way I can keep that pace for the rest of the race.  I slow down, but still manage to maintain a decent pace for the rest of the race.  Luckily after the killer hills the first 2 miles, you get some down hill the last 2 miles, so it doesn't seem too bad and I don't slow down too much.

Before I know it, I'm crossing the finish line and looking for Michelle.  She's done...and had a great race with a pace in the 7s!  Dang, why can't I be that fast?!

We meet up with some other friends at one of the local hot spots which is already filled with runners everywhere!  About 30 minutes later 2 ladies come in to the bar and order a beer.  The bartender asks her whether she wants a 16 oz or a 22 oz and the lady slams her fist into the bar and replies "Give Me the Big One!"  My friends and I were dying laughing.  Turns out our new friend is 88 years old, and she has another friend who is a bit younger, but wouldn't reveal her age.  She also just one the Senior Master Division!  She has a plaque and a medal that she is showing off to the crowd.  My friend Ken buys their beers and the lady couldn't have been more excited.  It was so funny.  They later told us, that all they think about during those miserable hills are "cold beer at the end".  LOL, they were funny.

Our friends we met.  Notice the plaque the lady on the left is holding.  She's the 88 year old!  Pretty hard to believe!

Overall, it was a great race and a fun day.  I proved to myself that I haven't lost my ability to run in the 10s and that with a little more speed training this Spring, I'll hopefully be back to running my faster pace....and hopefully even faster by the fall!