Yes, I did

It was awesome. The day woke early. I was feeling perfectly healthy and fit. Minus some allergies. Got ready; running early (so to speak). Got everything on (heart monitor, cap, etc.), and piled my sister and myself into the car. We parked and headed over to get our numbers. (I was 68 [just missed a great number by one], she was 86, poetic.) We walked around to warm up, strolling the park, hit the pit stops. Very excited. Went back up to the registration area, ate a banana, and migrated with the masses to the starting line. Very excited. Very cold. I was not prepared for the low 40's weather. I was FREEZING.

Seemed like forever we stood there waiting to go. When it was time, there was some weak cheering. Lame-os. Gather up some excitement, people! I futzed with my iPod, starting my podcast and finagling it back into the holder. This took much longer than I liked. Then there was a bend. The path cut back on itself so we got to see who was in the lead. Four Nigerian-looking men were in the lead, running like their asses were on fire. It was encouraging. I was excited.

The run was long. At least it was interesting to watch the people pass me. Until the elderly started passing me. It was not sufficiently distracting. The podcast didn't distract me as much as usual. The run was long. I walked twice, for a total of about two minutes. Did I say it was long? I was not prepared for the total lack of mental stimulation. The music did not keep my attention, so I got to focus on my fatigue, my heart rate, and the course. I mentioned it was long, right?

I was passed by a woman wearing a shirt that said, "I'm slow. I know. Get over it." If you're slow and you pass me, what does that make me? Hmm? I had half a mile left when Robert said, "you've only got about a minute left." Huh. I had about 7 minutes left. It was a long chug. Then I saw the 3 mile marker. Awesome! I started to walk. Then I realized THAT WAS NOT THE END! So I picked it back up and ran through the finish corral. Time was about 40:02. I thought I broke 40, back where I thought it ended, but of course 5K is not 3 miles. It's about 3.1 miles. D'oh! That's ok.

I tracked back to cheer on my sister. She finished strong, running thru the finish. Good on ya, mate. I was #254. Seriously. That's scary. I didn't fill out the little card thing because I was not going to win any prizes other than "slowest female in her age group," and they can keep that one for themselves thank you very much.

It was invigorating. I was not very tired at the end. I did not push myself, but I made my goal; finish it running. Next year I want to be in the top 100.

I can't wait.

Thank you all for your encouragement and support. ::sniff:: I will have photos soon - they're currently on my sister's camera phone.

Now go pick out a movie for our date night tonight. Mom's coming over to watch our disobedient monkey. Little monster.