Yes, that is exactly what I did! I have a PR in my last two races.
The first one was the Alivio y Salud Run for Health 5K on Saturday, May 21. This year was my third time running this race. The first time I did it I placed 3rd in my age group and got a medal. I like this race because it is FLAT. Seriously. I know Chicago is known for its flat course but there are a few inclines which I have yet to be friends with. It was a bit cool so I wore a long sleeve underneath my Fleet Feet running shirt. I am a member of their running team so I wear my shirt at every race. It is a small race for runners because there are many more walkers than runners. Also, this race attracts a lot of grade school kids. As it got closer to the starting time I made my way up to as close as possible to the front. I was not going to be stuck behind the walkers. However, instead I was passed up by kids. Well, I ran as fast as I could and finished in 29:48. I placed 6th in my age group. I was so happy because finally I finished a 5K in less than 30 minutes.
The next race was the Solder Field 10 Mile Run on Saturday, May 28. I woke up so tired that morning and almost decided not to go. I am glad I did go. The race began at 7:15 so I left my house around 6am because I still needed to pick up my packet. As I got closer to Soldier Field I could see the traffic and it was not pretty. There were two lanes (left side) to get to Lake Shore Drive (north). However, some drivers decided that it was best to cut in front of the other drivers that had been waiting in their lane for quite a bit of time. So annoying!!! I finally got to the parking lot and it was a challenge to find parking. I found a spot after squeezing in between two cars only to find out that there were plenty of other spots in the next lane. By this time I was even more annoyed but decided to let go of it and pick up my packet. So many people were at the race. I found the packet pick up line but did not know my bib number so I had to go to another line. Frantically I checked my email on my phone to look for a email from Fleet Feet. Found it and went to the appropriate lane to get my bib. Yes! I even got the shirt size I asked for when I signed up. I checked in my gear and got in line for the bathroom. Too many people there. I left the line and instead went inside the stadium. By then the race was about to begin so people were leaving the stadium. Good for me because I did not have to wait long to use the bathroom.
I went to get in line for the race but there were so many people. There were corrals and I did not know which one I belonged to. I followed other runners and made my way to Corral B. I noticed that the finish goal time was 1:30 but I knew that that was not going to happen for me. A few minutes later off I went. As usual I started too fast. Below are the times:
Mile 1-10:06 (fastest mile)
Mile 2-10:09
Mile 3-10:14
Mile 4-10:34
Mile 5-10:44
Mile 6-10:33
Mile 7-11:33 (slowest mile)
Mile 8-11:05
Mile 9-10:53
Mile 10-10:27
My goal was 1:45 but I finished in 1:46:17. I am very, very happy with my time. Another PR for me!! Last year I finished this race in 1:49:48.