The Coogan’s Salsa, Blues and Shamrock 5k did not disappoint in any form or fashion. There were bands along the course, a scenic view of the cloisters and nice challenging hills.

Any chance you noticed that my bib is red and not yellow? That means for this race I was promoted into the red corral (For those of you that don’t know all NYRR races use a corral system based on your fastest time for any race 4 miles or longer).

Let’s be honest, the red corral scares me! I hung out in the back of the red corral until the red and yellow corral were merged into one. I then fell into a more intimidating spot beside a speedy 8 year old.

If there’s one thing you need to know about NYC runners is that they are fast. Back in the day when I ran road races in Nashville, I often placed in my age group. I will NEVER place in my age group in NYC unless I’m still running when I’m 80.

Speaking of my 1st 5k, I rocked this race old school style by not wearing a watch or looking at any of the clocks along the course. I really had no expectation other than to have fun.

After the gun went off there was a nice crowd to slow things down. My fear of starting out too quickly with the fast runners was demolished immediately. Surprisingly, my legs still felt loose from my warm-up.

The course was an out and back. I love being able to watch the winners pass by and also looking for friends along the way. It’s really the best distraction.

After the turning point it was uphill for the next 1.5 miles. Luckily the last .1 was a slight downhill. I was feeling good at the end and decided to go for an infamous all out sprint. It felt good to run that fast.

I crossed the finish line in 23:22. Considering I wasn’t pushing the pace until the end, I’m happy with that time. When I saw the green bagels at the finish line I knew I had to grab one for the Husband who was patiently waiting.

Reason enough to have kids: Kids Races!!! (Don’t get any ideas)

We didn’t stick around for the Kids Races, but did walk up to Coogan’s to check out the line for free Guinness.

Needless to say we didn’t wait in line.

Okay, kids this is the longest 5k recap ever so I’ll wrap it up by saying that I met Mari today! So fun to finally meet a fellow NYC blogger.