Vermont Corporate Cup and State Agency Race

On Thursday, May 16th 2013 I headed to Montpelier, VT with a bunch of people from my office to run in the 30th Annual Vermont Corporate Cup and State Agency Race. In 2012 I ran my first 5K at this same race, so I was excited to see how far I had come. I set what felt like a pretty lofty goal of running the 5K in under 30 minutes, so I was excited to see how I would do.

The weather was kind of overcast and in the upper 50's, but it ended up being perfect for running. We had to wear team shirts for our organization (which I hated - they were straight cotton and in women's sizes, which I hate. I got a large to make sure it was long enough and had wide enough sleeves, and it ended up being super long. Oh well - yay team spirit!) and I paired it with black capris. I was feeling good at the beginning of the race, and despite the course being super crowded (the Corporate Cup is the second largest race int he state of Vermont!) I got a good start.

Everyone in the Corporate Cup runs with a 3 person team. We started off together, but agreed that we would all go at our own pace. We stayed together for about the first .5 mile, but as soon as the runners started to spread out a bit and I had some space to settle into a pace, I lost my teammates and started in on my own race.

I felt great the entire time. The Corporate Cup always includes a lot of non-runners attempting to run with their companies, so I was passing people left and right as they stopped for walk breaks. When I got to mile 2, there was a guy yelling out splits, and I was at about 20:30 - so I knew I was just a little behind my goal. It had taken me some time to cross the start line, but I really wanted to achieve an OFFICIAL under 30 min 5K.

I picked it up during the last mile and gave it my all. As I approached the final hill (the one that nearly killed me last year) I felt strong - even picking up speed and passing people. I rounded the final corner and really picked it up - I set my eyes on a coworker of mine and decided that I wanted to beat him - and I did! I crossed the finish line at 29:44!

After the race everyone from work headed to a restaurant together and enjoyed dinner. It was a great end to an amazing day!

Running this race again showed me how far I've come in the past year - not only did I feel confident on the course, but I beat my goal time and my body felt good. It just reminds me to trust the process and keep hitting the pavement!

BLING!!