Run for Russ 5k

Another race in the books!!

We woke up bright and early for the Run for Russ 5k.  We left way before the start of the race since they didn’t have a pre-packet pickup.  The sun was just rising and made for a beautiful view of the mountains.

We got there early enough and had our pick of parking spaces and then headed to get our bibs.  The Run for Russ 5k is hosted by Chino PD in honor of Officer Russ Miller. 

And the PD was in full force!  Throughout the race, they had groups of academy students running and chanting the whole way through. 

They also had pancakes for after the run!

The race started about 10 minutes late and took off pretty quickly.  It has been a week since we last ran since my knee has been grumpy – it’s been feeling like it’s just on the verge of becoming an injury. 

I wanted to take it easy, but the energy of the other racers quickly had me going at a just above normal speed for me.  The first mile flew by and I actually commented “that was fast” out loud. 

• Mile 1 – 11:31
• Mile 2 – 10:55

All during the second mile, we were running right in front of a group of academy students.  They were chanting the whole way and kept the energy going.  During the middle of the last mile, the course had us running by the Russ Miller Memorial.  As the academy students reached that point, they stopped to pay their respects.

The last mile was tough, I wasn’t use to holding that pace.

• Mile 3 – 11:03
• Last .1 – 7:56 – we were hauling it to the finish line!!

I waited for the official times to be sure…

…and we PR’d!!!  I cannot believe it – a sub 11:00/mile pace. 

Jeff finished 39th/53 in his age, 317th/519 male, 501st/952 overall – only because he is awesome and runs with me.  If he ran by himself those other men would be left in his dust!!

I finished 23rd/49 in my age, 185th/433 female, 502st/952 overall.

We actually had plans to stick around for the pancakes, but mother nature called and a porta potty did not sound appealing at all.  We grabbed some post race goodies (oranges, bananas and free Harkins cups!) and then headed out home.