Watermelon Series

I have competed in all of the classic Lakeland running events, except for one.  The Watermelon Series was the missing piece of my racing resume.  It is a series of three 5ks over the summer and the goal is to try and beat your time each time you race.  Hard to do as the summer just gets hotter and hotter and hotter.  There is watermelon at the finish line to give you at least one reason to sign up for this hideous thing, but it is definitely a tough sell.  I ran the final race yesterday morning and here is how my series went:

Race 1-  27:57

Race 2- 27:32

Race 3- 26:09  

Hot dang!  I did it!  I actually improved my time and I have no idea how in the world I ran as fast as I did on race 3.  I can only attribute my success to Orange Theory and all of the treadmill work.  The last time I ran a 5k that fast was probably 8 years ago.  I am still on cloud nine for finishing that fast as a 38 year old Bingham.  The odds are never in my favor, you know?

AND, just to show you how much running has changed since I started running in 2008, here is a video of the start of race 3, courtesy of your friendly neighborhood drone.  And if you wait and watch when the drone turns to the left, you will see the completely empty site where the Lakeland Yacht and Country Club used to be.  It was completely demolished and will be rebuilt sometime soon.  Crazy to see the giant empty space.

If you want to know where I am in this video, I am wearing a violent yellow highlighter shirt and I am running at a phenomenal rate of speed.  Probably too fast for you to even see me.  Never mind.