Kevin Cain Make My Day 5K in Havertown - race #1

      My goal is to run a 5K race each weekend in Delaware County (and one 10-miler in Philadelphia) for the next six weeks.  They're fun, a goal I can work toward each week & they're almost all in a five-mile radius of my house.  The races are usually $20, I get a T-shirt I can brag about & the money raised always go to a good cause.  Back in 2008, my New Year's resolution was to run a 5K, and since then I've done 14 races.  That year I started with the Kevin Cain Make My Day 5K in Havertown.  (See photos & video of the race at http://tinyurl.com/6kfhcyb). 
     Being in good shape, I thought I could translate my swimmer's endurance from the pool to the pavement.  It was a little bit tougher than that, and the Kevin Cain race is one of the more challenging 5K routes I've done.  After taking off from it last year, I was back to race it last Sunday, April 3.  It's a huge party, with a DJ pumping up the crowd beforehand and supporters line the route.  The volunteers are great and very helpful, especially Mark and Cain's widow Rose.  You can really tell how important Kevin Cain, who died of cancer in 2005, was to this community.   
     Starting at Annunciation B.V.M. on Brookline Boulevard, it's smooth sailing until I turn left onto Lawson Avenue.  The hill is pretty steep, and the temperature of 54 degrees and sunny now feels a bit too warm.  It's a pretty section of Havertown, with all the attractive Dutch Colonial homes & large trees which shade the street.  Baby steps up the hill, I keep moving and even pick up the pace when a guy pushing a stroller starts to pass me on the left.  That's lot getting beat by two people!
     Soon after I reach 2Ks I turn left onto Mill Road; it's another steep hill and several runners stop and are starting to walk.   One runner is super friendly and offers words of encouragement to his fellow contestants.  I feel good enough by this point to even tell him about my goal to run a 5K each week.  He wishes me good luck as we reach 3Ks. 
     Finally turning left onto Brookline Boulevard, the church looks sooo far away.  The street is really wide & there's no one right around me, which sort of makes me feel like I need to pick up the pace again.  With a block to go, I do my best impression of a "sprint."  Though I felt the race went well, I check my time & it's a 30:47!  My second worst time ever!  Ugh.  Oh well, my mom & my boyfriend Kevin were there to cheer me up. 

      This Saturday, I'm racing for the first time in the Ridley Run.  It's a 5K point-to-point race from the Ridley YMCA to Ridley High School.  Other than running Broad Street last year, I've never done a point-to-point race, so I'm excited!  Kevin's running it with me; it's his second 5K race ever.  There's a chance of showers, so I'll be praying for nice weather:-)