Our First 5K Race!!

Yeah! We did it! Emily and I signed up for the Run for Red 5K in Provo around a month ago. As the race got closer we were both wondering what the heck we'd done. While we knew we could run 3 miles, we didn't know how many people would show or what to expect. Sheena had told us there would be a ton of teenagers. That was an understatement. I arrived at the school an hour early. I wanted to scope it out. I checked in, got my packet, and my number. It was freezing cold out this morning, so I couldn't decide what to wear. Should I wear my fleece? I'd never run in my fleece, but it was cold! Where was I going to put my car key? So many dumb questions ran through my mind. As I sat there tons of people checked in. Lots of teenagers - just like Sheena has said. They were in shorts and t-shirts. Maybe I didn't need my fleece. So many diehards were there. I didn't belong. What was I doing in a race? Give me a break. Em arrived, and she checked in, and then we were able to laugh together. We stretched, giggled, and stared down the competition. What were we doing? I'd read it was good to start towards the back for our first race. We didn't want to get trampled by the experienced runners. So, we held back. Then the warning, and then the gun. We were off...slowly. Imagine 300 people trying to run at once. Not easy. And to top it off we had to file through a couple of very narrow areas and a bridge. We easily lost a minute or two because we had to walk - at the back of the pack. There was no way we could run. Kim let me borrow her Garmin (thank you so much Kim), so we were able to monitor our distance, pace, and time. It was the best tool ever. Absolutely necessary. We were able to gauge how fast we were running. Some people passed us, but honestly, we passed most everyone. We stayed steady and left the sprint to the end. Em and I proudly ran through the finish line together. Our times were descent. Em came in at 27:34.9, and I came in at 27:35.2. I placed 4th in my age group and 26th overall. Not bad for a first race! Now we have our sites set on a new race. We found out there's another 5k in Provo on April 5th - my dad's birthday. We've already decided we are going to run it, and this time we are going to cut our time by a couple of minutes. We'll for sure start closer to the front of the pack. We're not going to lose time by walking again! Here's to the first of many! Yeah for us Em! I am so proud of us old ladies (you not so old - miss 33!)!!!

Here's the link to check out the professional shots taken at the race: http://www.jontehero.com/runforred/