While we were on vacation, my dad and I ran in a local 5K so that we could count Florida as done. It was quite warm and we planned to take it easy with a 9 minute pace to start, working our way down to an 8:30 pace. We had no plans to PR, just a plan to run a nice race together near the ocean. It was a beautiful, flat race, on a big sidewalk along the beach.
There were no chips and it was a small group, so we started very near the front. When the announcer yelled “go”, we just went with the crowd. Apparently it was a fast crowd.
At the half mile point, I realized we were at a 7:30 pace. Oops. I told my dad that I wouldn’t mind puking at the end, but I’d prefer not to do it mid-race. We slowed down and ended up finishing mile 1 in a little over 8 minutes. They actually had two waterstops and I grabbed a water at the first one. I nearly choked myself on it, so we decided to not stop at the second one. At the turnaround, we were at 12:40ish. We figured we could keep pushing and manage a 13 minute return and I’d have a PR.
The second half of the race was a bit harder, but my dad always manages to find reserves, just when I feel like I’m done. No way was I going to be left behind, so I kept pushing. We even managed to pick up the pace and race the last .1 into the finish line.
A new PR of 25:40 AND I was 3rd in my age group (just missed the top 10 for women overall) AND Dad was 1st in his age group! Woot! We came in to the finish together, but they wrote him down first, so I still haven’t beaten him in a race. ;o)

CONGRATS to both you and your dad! LOL that he beat you, but you both seriously did amazing! Congrats on your PR and crossing off another state! Glad you’re back ๐
Great work! Another state, another pr, you’re unstoppable!
Awesome!! I’ll have to find out more about your BTDT experience with the elimination diet….can I confess that I did sneak a granola bar and some chocolate chips today??? Ug. Only day one. This is gonna be hard!!!Also–if you had to pick your FAVORITE local beer, what would it be? I’m gonna get some beer for my BIL who LOVES beer, too (I really don’t get the beer love, but OK I know I’m the freak here).
That's awesome!!! Congrats to you & your dad ๐
Wow! Third for your age group… your dad in first for his… you two rock! It sounds like a fun race. Congratulations!!
Congrats on the new PR! That is awesome.
That is AWESOME! Congratulations on your PR. Isn’t it nice to know you can push yourself like that?Welcome home.
how wonderfully fun!! I wish i could get my parents in to running, I just think it’s such a great bonding experience
Teh HeisenDad is 86 (going on 87) and in a wheelchair and is totally USELESS to me as motivator in a race! Thanks a lot, Teh ‘Dad!Just kidding, ‘Dad! He reads your blog, sister!Haha! No he doesn’t. He doesn’t even read mine.And I’m tapping my foot impatiently … what did you drink on vay-kay?O, man – “lastoidy” as word verifcation? Go now if you need to because this is the lastoidy!
Loved the recap! Congrats again! I can’t believe they wrote down your Dad first—don’t they know you need a win? ๐ I think it’s amazing you get to run with your Dad. I hope I can do that with my kids someday.
Great job! That’s awesome that you ran with your dad and congrats on the pr.
Congrats on the PR! And it’s great that you got to run with your dad. And you got another state on top of that. Go you!