Sub twenty minute 5k goal accomplished

Tristan

Barefooters
Sep 15, 2011
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Today was the fourth time I ran my towns 5k... second time doing it barefoot. I've progressed from nearly 25 minutes my first year (and the very first 5k I ran since high school) down to 20:05 last year barefoot. 20 minutes was something I wasnt sure if I'd ever see again, but after being within seconds of it last year, I knew this year would be it. I ran 2 5k's earlier this year, below freezing, minishod, and was in the 21-22 minute range but was struggling with form and foot issues with the shoes, besides it being cold. So this is probably the only barefoot 5k I'll do this year.

Its a small town, and typically only about 3 dozen or so show up for the race, half of which is the local school crosscountry team. Well they weren't there this year, and bad weather probably reduced the numbers down a few more. It stormed all night, and was still raining at race time. It did slow down to a mist/sprinkle though, and was actually quite pleasant. First time racing in the rain since my high school days. Well only about a dozen or so people showed up, and the one younger kid that beat me last year by a few seconds wasnt there. For the first time ever in a race, I really didnt have any competition. At the finish line the next person behind me wasnt even in sight (~2 minutes). But I still managed to push myself to my goal, and ran the thing in 19:26 and won my first race ever!

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Had to have some kind of shot of the race so I snapped a pic of the finish line after I was finished. That right there is where I do most of my running (pretty boring, but at least I'm off the narrow 55mph roads around there).

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My first cash award! Its not much, but we all got to start somewhere. I think I am going to frame that paper and 20 bucks! :D (but with the small turnout I felt guilty taking even that).
 
Congrats, Tristan!
 
YES! Sub 20 5K!
Now that you've proven weather is no obstacle for you, Arnold Pump & Run March '14?
Start training on the bench to the rules NOW!
I believe registration is Nov 1 and is expected to sell out within a few hours.
You will OWN it in your age group!
 
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Freaking awesome Tristan great way to showed those doubters that barefoot runners CAN run fast AND win races!!!
Congrats!!!
 
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Thanks everyone! I'm so happy to be back into the time range I used to be in high school! My average was probably a minute faster yet, but plenty of 5k's I was in the 19's and 20's too.

Nicely done Tristan. Smokin' feet fast! Noticed the wet conditions. Any blisters?
Nope, maybe if it was a longer race, but no problems with my soles. At first the trail seemed slippery since its pretty smooth, and I havent ever ran on it wet at that kind of pace. But I found the one side seemed to have more texture than the other and had no problems on that side.

Freaking awesome Tristan great way to showed those doubters that barefoot runners CAN run fast AND win races!!!
Congrats!!!
Thanks Dama, hopefully I can win or place at some bigger races in the future!

YES! Sub 20 5K!
Now that you've proven weather is no obstacle for you, Arnold Pump & Run March '14?
Start training on the bench to the rules NOW!
I believe registration is Nov 1 and is expected to sell out within a few hours.
You will OWN it in your age group!
I'm really thinking about it. But its freakin cold at the Arnold... had to wear minishoes this year at it (just did the 5k) and my feet didnt like it. And while I did start doing weights earlier this year, bench press is my weak point. But I'm working on it.

Oh and here are a few random pics I took from the festival later that day. The Old Time Farm Festival. Didnt stick around too long this year and didnt really get to see any of the demonstrations and activities. But I walked around and looked at all the tractors and antique equipment on display and all the vendors and tents and food.

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A hot rodded Ford. Hard to see but it had twin stacks and really roared!

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Good old Minneapolis Moline, Massey Harris & Ferguson. There was probably a couple hundred tractors on display.

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Lots of neat old single cylinder hit n miss engines, and they had this one and many others running.

Figured out how to upload to youtube, there is a small engine rigged up to some kind of fan maybe? IDK, but its neat how those old things work. Only 'fires' about every 4 seconds... but those big heavy flywheels and the weight of everything keep it moving. They had another small engine like this running an old ice cream maker.

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Some of the best beans ever right there...

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This gal was making wood crafts using a pedal-powered scroll saw.

Ok, back to the 21st century...
 
Oh and here are a few random pics I took from the festival later that day. The Old Time Farm Festival. Didnt stick around too long this year and didnt really get to see any of the demonstrations and activities. But I walked around and looked at all the tractors and antique equipment on display and all the vendors and tents and food.

Reminds of stuff you can see at the Rough and Tumble Museum in Kinzers, PA, although I think it focuses more on past relics. Seeing some of those giant steam-powered tractors is kind of amazing.
 
Reminds of stuff you can see at the Rough and Tumble Museum in Kinzers, PA, although I think it focuses more on past relics. Seeing some of those giant steam-powered tractors is kind of amazing.

Yeah, even though most of those tractors are considered antiques, many are still in use today. Maybe not as convenient, big, or powerful as today's tractors but my uncle still uses an old Farmall H and an M as regular tractors on the farm, and a neighboring farm to my house has several old John Deere's including a B I hear putting around a lot.

Speaking of steam engines, they had an old steam powered tractor there too actually. Maybe not a huge one, well small in terms of steam engines, but it was really neat to see (they didnt actually have it running though)...

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