Atlanta Track Club Grand Finale

Ran and finished a 5K this morning in Midtown Atlanta: the ATC Grand Finale which ended the regular Grand Prix racing series.  I ran a total of 9 races out of 12 over the last year. Earned a black ATC tech T-shirt for my effort.  Next season I'm shooting for running all the possible races. All 12 of them.
This 5K course in the Ansley Park/ Mall area of Midtown around the Botanical Garden area was tough.  I knew I wasn't going to get a PR since there were lots of hills and sharp turns.  Plus I haven't been training hard the last few weeks since school started and with the oppressive heat and humidity of the Atlanta summer. I finally learned to get up earlier and got there with enough time to warm up, use the porta-potty and walked to the starting area.
I surprised myself though at the end of the race when I found an extra gear and had some burst at the finish line.  As I started my sprint to pass a couple of people with about 20 yards to go, I saw on my left some guy coming up and about to outkick me, I just turned it on and barely edged him at the finish line. Found out later that the guy was 3 years younger than me and we both finished with the same time. There was the competitive side of me which I haven't seen in years.  My official time was 25:24 for the 3.2 miles, which turned out to be a 7:58 mile pace, my first time ever that I broke 8 minute in a race.  The first mile I took it easy on purpose, still ran it at about 8:00 pace. The second mile, always a tough one, made especially excruciating with the hills in this race. I think it was also another 8:10.  I was struggling to breathe up until the downhill part when we got back on Piedmont Rd and going down to the Ansley Mall parking lot. That last mile was messed up on my Garmin watch, but I believe it was about 7:30.  Saw Genie B., the owner of West Stride as she yelled out to "swing your arms!" so I tried to do just that.  But the shoulders were getting tight, my chest felt heavy, I took a couple of deep breaths and focused on relaxing. Find Center, Relax, Breathe... I am still learning to breathe with each race.
I renewed my membership with ATC tonight.  Tomorrow I'm planning on a long run at the Chattahoochee River.  Bring it on. To Humidity and Beyond.....