Carpooled with Rick F. to Rockville for the Rockville Twilight 8k. We got there around 7, so we had plenty of time to get our registration packet and warmup before the 8:45 race. While at the registration area, I had someone bump me from behind and demand all of my money. I had no idea Rockville was so dangerous. It was Vern H. and Lisa. Glad to run into them.

Rick and I warmed up by running a mile and then stretched while waiting for the race start time. About 10 minutes before the race, everyone started walking to the start. Thousands of people were racing this one. You could feel the energy and excitement in the air.

I felt great and loose because I really didn't have any real goals for this race. Since starting the marathon training, I haven't done any speed work, so I didn't have any expectations for this one. I just decided I would start a little slower than normal and then go with how I felt.

The national anthem was sung and it was time to go. We're off. This race is always a little tough at the start because there are no corals and people of all kinds of speeds seem to be randomly spread out. I got stuck in a wall of slower runners for a little while, but I didn't mind because it forced me to start slower, which I wanted to do.

I felt like I had a good pace going in mile 1, but was a little surprised I wasn't faster when I saw 7:58 at the first mile marker. I decided to pick it up a little, but not too much since we were entering some hilly terrain. I was passing a lot of people and felt good. Passed the second mile mark and ran through a large group of people cheering which gave me a boost. 2nd mile: 7:54.

The third mile was pretty uneventful except for a little kid on the sidelines that kept yelling "you can do it." Made me laugh, but it did help and I think a lot of the runners liked it. 3rd mile: 7:46

The fourth mile was the one I was a little nervous about. The last two years I've run this race, the hill through the school parking lot has owned me. I've always had to walk some. This year I felt awesome going into that area and they also had a band playing at the top of the hill. They were playing Jump by Van Halen http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlq0lYB3iSM and the band was really good. It really gave me an energy boost and I was enjoying pushing myself on the hill. (I don't say that much :) Mile 4: 7:36

With only a mile to go and feeling good, I decided to push myself. This is going to sound dumb, but there was a metro train moving right beside of us during the last half of a mile and it helped me. For some reason, the sound of the train moving helped me focus and get me into a rythym. Mile 5: 7:06. Last .12 at a 6:25 pace.

After the race, I grabbed a water and hurried back up the course to cheer on Rick, Lisa, and Vern. All three ran well and looked fresh at the end. Apparently, a 60 degree day in July after weeks of 90's/100's does the body good :)

I thought I had beat my time on this course, but when I got home, I saw that I was about a minute slower. But, I don't care. I can't remember feeling so good during a five-mile race and it's been a while since I've had so much fun during a run.

Really glad Rick talked me into doing this one. Enjoyed everything about this one!