<p>Hey guys. My 5k is complete, and I'd say it was a success. And it was easily my most profitable race ever. (Read on).</p>
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<p>Yeah, it was hot. But not insanely so, like I was afraid it would be. They were saying the air temp was 85, and it was probably a little over 90 on the tarmac. It could have been worse.</p>
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<p>I started out too fast: I was at about a 6:25 pace for the first half mile. Oops. I slowed a bit and eventually settled into about a 6:45 groove. I started to tire in the third mile, but I think I held it together reasonably well. My PR coming into this was 20:58. The last 5k I did a couple months ago was 21:00. Today I crossed the finish line at 20:59 on my watch. I think I might have peaked. But I'll take it. </p>
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<p>Now comes the profitable part. This race is renowned for giving away tons of prizes. First of all, every finisher gets a little card as they cross the finish line which they can exchange for a prize. Most of the prizes are rather shitty, but I actually got a decent one: A gift basket full of Paula Deen baking materials. Not exactly up my alley, but my wife will love it. </p>
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<p>A little while later, they posted the results. Out of 800+ finishers, I came in exactly 100th overall. I'm quite happy with that! They listed my time as 21:02, which is 3 seconds slower than my watch, but whatever. And maybe that's gun time, so perhaps the chip time will reduce that a wee bit. But most surprisingly, I came in 3rd in my Age Group! With 99 people ahead of me, I'm shocked only 2 of them were M35-39. I saw that there were guys in their 40 and even 50s who finished ahead of me but didn't get an AG award. I guess all the fast M35-39s stayed home today...</p>
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<p>As it turns out, one of the guys ahead of me was actually in the top three overall, so I got the prize for 2nd in my AG. This is the third time I've won an AG award, and all of them have been for 2nd place. Kinda weird. But for the first time, I actually got something other than just a cheapo medal: I got a gift certificate for $10 off something from New Balance. While that won't pay the mortgage bill next month, it's still kinda cool.</p>
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<p>But the best was yet to come. This race has a random prize drawing at the end of the day, where they give out anything and everything. They had gift certificates to local restaurants, certificates for free personal training sessions, an iPod, and the grand prize was a treadmill. Well, I ended up getting my bib number called, and I won a free pair of shoes from Road Runner Sports (which is where I get my shoes now)! </p>
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<p>So for my $25 entry fee (or whatever it was) I got the Paula Deen basket, the $10 New Balance coupon, and a free pair of shoes. And a shiny new medal to hang on my wall as well. Not a bad haul for one morning! <img alt="" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/cool.gif" style="width:16px;height:16px;" title=""></p>