I completed my 3rd 5K this past Sunday, 9/11/11, which was a great day to run a race and be with so many other American runners (almost 650 people!) The race was very different than the previous ones I had done in almost every way. My sister-in-law, Christy, who is a great runner, and her husband, Troy, who is very athletic, came to visit us and go to my sons college football game. They were hoping to see him play, but he didn't get in...

Even though we partied like rock stars at the football game Saturday, we got up for the run on Sunday, with around 5 hours of sleep. Both Christy and I felt like we had eaten something at the tailgate that didn't agree with us. I had made several trips to the bathroom during the game and still felt a bit queesy the morning of the run and had concerns about being able to do the run and about the fact that my system was EMPTY! My husband ran this 5K with me and it was his first and I was so excited that he was doing it with me!!!

My husband wanted to start closer to the back even though we had been timing ourselves at around 30 minutes during our regular runs. The race was on a road in town and then cut to a path which went around a lake. I guess we started too far back in the pack, because I was constantly frustrated with trying to get around people. Once we got to the path, only about 4 people could run side by side and I couldn't believe the people that would get to the left and either walk or run slower than those on the right. I felt like we spent every second trying to figure out how to get around someone and even had to run off the path and on the grass to get around at times. A lot of people ran side by side and even though my husband and I wanted to run that way, I felt like it was better to run single file, to allow others to pass us if needed. It was also the only way we could possibly pass anybody. Towards the end, when I got my second wind, I just couldn't get around some people and felt frustrated to waste my turbo boost! I ended up finishing at 29:43 which is a new pb for me. My husband was about 7 second behind and thrilled with his time too!

Christy and Troy both started way to the front and both finished in around 24 minutes, with Christy being the first of our bunch to finish. They didn't have the problems of trying to pass others and I guess I learned a lesson that it's better to be passed than to be the one trying to pass??? What do you all say? Are there runners ethics? Was the large numbers of people part of the problem, our position at the start? or maybe just the way all races are?

All in all, a great day spent with family and doing something we love to do! We watched football, shopped and ate after the race and took our company to the airport this morning so they could fly home to Ohio! Christy and I are trying to plan our next race together with our hubbies!!! Anybody up for a Warrior Dash?