Just once...

... I'd like to get to the start of a road race on time. I'm not sure why this is proving to be so difficult, but it is. Today at the Brighton 5k Turkey trot was a sort of convergence of many factors.

1. Brighton is far away. Really far.
2. My mapquest directions weren't quite right. I spent an extra 10 minutes driving through the rec center neighborhood.
3. There was a long line for packet pick up. And of course, the S-Z line was the longest.
4. There was another line for chip pick up.
5. I had to pee.
6. My car was parked too far from the start line.
7. I tried to put my stuff in Becky's car but we got separated and her car was locked. I then spent an extra two minutes emptying my purse into my running jacket so I could stick all my stuff under Bee-Rad.

But the good news was, it was a chipped timed race. I was about a minute off the gun time (meaning I got to run around 200 walkers too) but at least my time will be accurate. The course boasted of being flat and fast, which is was. It was also pretty darn hard. I'm very proud to announce though that I got a PR today. My fastest 5k this year (only in a triathlon) was 28:14. I ran 26:45 today, beating my all time open 5k time of 27:01 in 2000.

After the race, I rushed home (even paying $3 for the Northeast Parkway) so Jeremy could go on his team ride. I'm still feeling jittery from rushing around all morning.

My next goal is to beat this time in the Colder Boulder. I'm planning on having my training actually support this next race, and hey, with luck I'll even get to the start on time and be properly warmed up, too. Should be doable, since the starting line is 2 miles from my house. No excuses!