Last Saturday I came to downtown Nashville to run. It was hot, I wasn’t 100% sure of the course and was a bit nervous, but I lined up at the starting line and ran my way through my first 5k. The results are now in. Of the nearly 400 entrants, I finished 110th. Of all the males, I finished 84th, and in my age group 17th. My final time was 27:59, a pace of 9:02/mi. Woo hoo!

I can’t help but feel I could have done better, but I suppose that is the curse of all competitors in a race. It has been a great experience, and I imagine myself entering a big race (including that big juggernaut,”M”) in the coming months.

—d