Anthem 5k

Today was my first running race ever, the Anthem 5k- first leg of the Triple Crown of Running. I was amazed when we got there at the excitement in the air...there were 8,515 participants, not to mention all the on-lookers and people cheering everyone on! There were some cheerers with funny signs, one that said, "Keep running- people are watching!" and another that said, "Run like someone is chasing you!"

The weather was nice, pretty cold before we ran (low to mid 30s maybe), but good in that the sun was shining! I was there with my sister Jenn and my cousin Jason. Here we are, excited to start the race!

We lined up for the race to start at 8:00, but as you can see we were a ways from the red "Start" archway we had to pass through (you can barely see it in this picture):

We didn't cross the start line until 8:06. The time chip on the number you wear on your shirt doesn't start the time though until you pass through that archway. Jenn and I ran together the whole way (3.1 miles)...Jason, of course, is way faster so we didn't run with him! We started off running really fast, a little overly excited to be running with a mob of people. Then we realized we should probably slow it down a bit if we wanted to run the whole way! The first mile felt great, and it was exciting to cross the first mile marker. The second mile had a slight decline and then incline, and it slowed us down a bit trying to get through all the people who had slowed down a lot doing uphill. The third mile felt like it was longer to me, mainly because I was so anxious to finish. Once we could see the finish line, I was so ready to be done! Jenn wanted to sprint to it, but I really didn't think I could. So she darted like a bullet through some people and crossed, and I got there 10 seconds later.

After the race, the stats are available online. Here's how I did:

Time: 31:54

Overall Rank: 4401 out of 8515

Gender Rank: 1847 out of 4904

Division Rank (Females 20-24): 188 of 356

Jenn's time was 31:44 and Jason's was 25:08 (no wonder we didn't run with him!!).

Afterward, Jenn, Jason, Amy, Julie (Amy and Julie are friends of Jenn's who did the 5k as well), Scott (he didn't do the 5k, just met up with us :)) and I went to brunch at Wild Eggs. My avacado, cheddar, fried egg, bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich and skillet potatoes were yummy!

My first race experience was a good one, although the first thought through my mind when I crossed the finish line was, "I'll never be able to do the mini-marathon!" This made me realize how much harder I need to train, especially since the 10k (6.2 miles) is coming up in 2 weeks! I am just so glad Jenn is running all these with me because she keeps me going during the race...she's faster than me and motivates me to keep up!