We started the day way too early for me - 5 am. The sun is just rising, so it doesn't feel that terrible to get up. Mark needs to eat and stretch before the race, while I just need to stretch. I can't think of eating before the race and I know there is yogurt at the end of the 3 miles. Al, my kind father-in-law, drives Kirsten and me to the start of the 5K and continues on to drop off Mark at the start line of his 15K. Al will meet us at the end of the race next to the brewery.
Kirsten and I stand around talking and taking selfies before the race starts. We are there at least 30 minutes early. As it gets closer to the start, it begins to get crowded. There are times listed along the side that you are supposed to use as a guide of where to wait. The slower runners should be at the back to allow the faster runners to start at the front. They begin with the singing of the National Anthem and then a countdown. Even after the announcement that the race has begun, Kirsten and I are still waiting to move. Then slowly, people start to edge forward to a light jog and we finally see the start line. We are off. I wasn't very polite because I didn't stay with Kirsten for very long. I have the music on my iphone set to my pace, so when the music is too slow, I know it is time to run faster. So, I head off to the left and start passing people who are not going very fast or just walking.
The best part of the race is hearing the announcer in the distant and then seeing the finish line. That is when the adrenaline kicks in and I start running a little faster. I know that Al is on the right side of the street, so I make my way over to the right as I cross the finish line. I found him and walk over to see him. I didn't have to wait too long to see Kirsten finish as well! Good job Kirsten! From there, we head down to the food and my favorite - chocolate milk! I put the plastic boilermaker bag in my back pocket of my leggings so that I could put all of our food in that instead of trying to carry it all in our arms. We sat down, ate some food (yogurt), and Kirsten picked up a beer. I took a photo of her at 8:22 am drinking a beer and making an awful face because it tastes so yucky. Now it's time to walk back to the finish line to wait for Mark and Shawn.
So these are their bad pictures - they look so tired and done with running.
See how much happier they are when they know that we are taking their pictures! The five of us head down to the festivities so that they can get their food. We don't have any idea where Tracy is at this point. Shawn thinks that her phone died, so the tracker isn't working. 15 (or more) Chobani yogurts later, we are leaving the race happy that it is over for another year. YEAH!
Comments