2011 Vibha Houston Dream Mile

Last weekend, Nathan and I ran our first 5K this year at the 2011 Vibha Houston Dream Mile. It's been exactly 1 year since I ran my last 5K at the Awty Ram Run. Needless to say, It wasn't my fastest 5K but it was a good run to gauge my fitness level. I finished in chip time of 20:58.7. I won my age group and was 2nd overall female. The winner was a 13yr old who ran 20:57.7. Nathan was 2nd for his age group in 20:59.7 which is also a PR for him.

The race started at 7:30am on one of the coldest mornings this fall. The temperature was in the low-mid 40s. The course went through a neighborhood and started and finished in a park. There were several serious looking runners so Nathan and I picked a starting spot behind the antsy and half naked group.We ran together with our first mile in 6:43. We were in 9th and 10th place then passed a girl around 1.25 miles. We stayed in a gap between people going through the 2nd mile right around 13:30. The last mile went through the park where there were short hills which slowed us down as we tried to pass people. We were starting to catch up to the girl and were within 100m when her dad on the side of the path told her we were coming. She picked up her pace. I was already at the point of puking and was not able to give an all out kick. At Mile 3, I decided I wasn't going to catch her and just finished out the race. We finished 5th and 6th overall.
 It wasn't until after the race that we realized that the places were decided by chip time and not gun time. If I had just kicked a little harder the last 20m I would have been the overall winner. I guess it gives me something to aim for next year. And I won't forget that my strength is my 400m speed at the end of the race.