Freedom 5K

Here's how this morning's Freedom 5K went for me:

Mile 1 -- 8:22
Mile 2 -- 9:04
Mile 3 -- 9:34

5K elapsed time: 27:43

I know my heart was racing pretty darn hard during the third mile, and I had to take a walk break there to get things back under control. I briefly chatted with the RW forumite "running_crazy" after the race. She had driven in from The Woodlands (about an hour away!) to run this race and went right back home.

This is the fourth year I've run the Freedom 5K, and the first official one under 30 minutes:

2008 -- 27:43
2007 -- 23:52 (2.6 miles, course shortened due to flooding)
2006 -- 31:13
2005 -- 37:38

It looks like 27:43 was good enough to be the 11th guy in my age group out of 20. But more significantly, my three-year door prize streak was broken this year. For the first time ever, I came home from the Freedom 5K empty-handed. And I was starting to think it was a birthright . . . .