Heroes in Recovery 6K quickly became a family favorite for Momma K and I run after we ran it for the first time last year. There were just so many things that we genuinely enjoyed about the experience, but mostly we were happy to be supporting a wonderful organization, Heroes in Recovery. Obviously, when it was time to make our 2016 race calendar, we both knew instantly that we had to look out for race details for this race to come around this summer.
With times of heartbreak and sorrow in our country and world lately, I have to take a moment to brag on some people for a moment. During the National Anthem, the girl performing stumbled and lost the song for a moment (hey, it happens). Well, the crowd all stepped in and continued singing when this happened. It is little things sometimes that regain your faith in people and the community. When one person struggles, you help them. This was just a beautiful moment and something that honestly gave me goosebumps.
I had a really good first mile, but after that things kind of went downhill. I think a lot of my struggle came from the humidity - it was just hard to breathe. Period. It was in the upper 70s/low 80s PLUS high humidity throughout the race. I almost had a breakdown around mile 3 just because I felt like it was a horrible run for me. I kept myself in check and reminded myself that these tough summer runs are what will make me stronger come Fall.
I crossed the finish line with a new PR by over a minute, but about 3 minutes slower than what I was really hoping to run today. Not too shabby for the conditions. I seriously was completely soaked when I finished - like it looked like I just got out of the swimming pool soaked.
Brendan totally crushed it! This dude has been ROCKING his 5Ks lately and this was his longest run to date. Guess what? Even with the extra kilometer in there (which is about .6 miles longer), he still kept his 5K PR pace...in that heat! Watch out runners, this guy is going to be blazing fast come Fall!