First 5K

It really was a perfect day to take on my first 5K. Overcast, fairly cool, with a veil of optimism in the air! My friend and I were nervous together but had enough time to become accustomed to being there. We considered how an hour can last a really long time if given the right circumstances. I was impressed with the friendly nature of the running community, which I did not expect. I appreciated that the already-finished were generous enough to hand out encouragement to those still slogging it out...I'm sure it made them feel good too (Uh, I have been done for so long that I am trying to keep myself entertained by cheering for the turtles...)

My motto for the event was "Having Fun," and the running part was reeeeasonably fun. My running partner, if you could call it that, for the second half of the race was a giant, tall man in head to toe black, running pants, and sandals. He was a walker/runner, but was fastidious in making sure that the very second I caught up to him, he would hang up his walking hat and put on his running stride. The maddening part for me was that it only took him several strides of those long legs to be about twenty feet ahead of me, when he could walk again. I thought to myself, well, I guess I'm ok with being someone's motivation to run? And then I looked at the flowers as I passed them by.

But, the most fun part was the last ten seconds of the race. I followed the lead of everyone ahead of me who turned on their juice in the last block of the race, not wanting to let the onlookers down with at least an energetic-seeming finish. But I reeeally turned on my juice when I see my sweet cheering husband, running parallel to me and trying to get to the finish ahead of me to get the good photo op. I couldn't let an onlooker beat me in this race!