I wasn't excited about my 6 a.m. wake up call but as I was driving to campus to meet Tym and Amy to carpool, my race day adrenaline started kicking in and I could feel the butterflies forming in my stomach. The closer we got to downtown, the more my nerves started kicking in. When we made the walk from Newport to the stadium where the race started, my adrenaline started pumping and I just couldn't contain my excitement. We met up with Nicole, one of my co-workers and just walked around taking in the crowd. As of 7 a.m., there were 18,000 people registered for the Race! It was a much bigger and much more exciting 5k than the one I ran in August where there were only about 100 people!
A bunch of the local radio stations were there and had music going to get everyone excited. We had registered for the non-competitive run so our run started 15 minutes after the competitive one. However, we made sure we were at the front of the start line for our race so we could get out of the crowd and actually run. I started off with a slow jog and then slowed down to a fast paced walk which helped as we approached the quarter mile mark because it was a hill. Nicole and I took it at a run and made it about halfway up before we had to walk the rest of it. However, it didn't take me long to recover and we were off running again!
My race day adrenaline helped a lot because when we crossed that one mile mark at 14:58 I was shocked! I had cut almost a minute and a half off of my mile time since last month's 5k! That helped to keep me going as we approached the water stop at a little over a mile and a half and I was able to run the last quarter mile and cross the two mile mark at a run. I crossed the two mile mark at exactly 30 minutes and I wish someone had had a camera to record the smile that just spread across my face as I knew I was going to come in at the finish line under an hour again.
I had high hopes that I would finish the whole 5k at 45 minutes or under but the last mile was rough because it was a much bigger hill than the first two hills had been and I had to walk all of it. At the crest of the hill Nicole and I took off running and that downhill helped my time greatly because we crossed the finish line at exactly 48 minutes! I threw my hands up in the air and shouted in excitement because I had finished in under an hour again and had cut four minutes and 20 seconds off of last month's 5k time!!
By the time all of that kicked in, I was doubled over because I kept saying I was going to get sick. hahaha....I hadn't eaten this morning (I never do before I run) because I knew it would make me nauseous but since there was only one water stop through the course, my body had lost water and I was shaky. Luckily they handed out water bottles at the end and I downed mine as quickly as they gave it to me and I was able to recover quickly.
We walked through some of the booths they had set up and each of us had a skinny cow ice cream which was SO good post race! I was trying to save room because I really wanted a smoothie since we had parked at the levee until I later discovered that the smoothie place wasn't open when we got back to the car. Bummer. At least the ice cream was good!
I was so proud of my run time this morning and so proud of Nicole who had kept telling me last night and this morning to leave her behind as I was running because she was going to walk it. She pushed herself SO hard and did so well! Without her, Tym, and Amy cheering me on and pushing me to run further when I didn't think I could do it, I wouldn't have been able to do this. They were my support system today and I was so thankful for each of them being there with me!
I had lunch with my sister, brother in law, and the kids and then came home and soaked in a hot bath because the hills in this 5k had killed me and I was so sore! After soaking in the tub for an hour, I laid down in bed for a nap and ended up sleeping for three hours. This race had been so amazing but it just took so much out of me.
If I didn't think I was completely crazy, I'd register for a 5k that's coming up next Saturday evening but it's hills are even more killer and I'm not sure I'd do as well in it since I won't be able to train the way I need to this week because this week is a recovery week. My mom is a nurse and she thinks it's not smart and thinks I should take it easy so we'll see.
All in all, I'm very, very proud of how well I did today and the fact that I pushed myself harder this time around! All of this training is paying off and I'm well on my way to a 14 or 15 minute mile at the half marathon next May! :-)
Now I leave you with pictures from today!
Before the Race for the Cure with Tym, Amy, and Nicole! 
A hot, sweaty mess after the Race for the Cure in the parking garage!
With my Amy love!
Posing with Tym after the Race!
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