A couple days ago I woke up with a terrible cold. I was hoping and praying that it would go away in time for me to be able to run the 5K. When I got up this morning, I could feel the cold seeping into my lungs which made breathing difficult. Ugh! No matter, though. I've been training for this run for 9 weeks and nothing is going to stop me from crossing the finish line!
Nadia and I got up at 7am. I scrambled us some eggs while she toasted a whole grain bagel for us to share. We each had an orange and some water. Pretty decent breakfast with plenty of time to digest since the run wasn't until 9am. We began hydrating and got our running gear on!
The whole family (my husband and other two daughters) loaded up in the truck and we were on our way. When we arrived the rest of our team was already there and waiting in line to get checked in. It was really exciting to watch so many different people preparing for the 5k. There was a band that was a little kooky, but pretty decent.
We got ourselves checked in and were immediately given packets of color and bright white t-shirts. Of course, our shirts didn't stay white for long.
Here we are, Spectrum Runners! I'm the one in the middle in the back row. My daughter is to my left.
As we stood around waiting for the run to begin, we chatted, danced, and threw color at each other. Finally, the announcement came that the Color Dash was about to start. "Runners in the front, walkers in the back." I'm a runner now, so I went right in front with my team members. My adrenaline was already pumping from the excitement. There was a countdown from ten and then we were off!
It took me a couple minutes to find my pace because there were so many other people running around me. Nadia stayed right with me even though I said she could run freely. What a good girl. You know, all through this process, she's been right by my side. I've given her permission to run off in the distance, and she did for the first couple runs, but since then, she's stayed right by me.
We ran for a little over a half mile when I could no longer handle the burning sensation in my lungs from this horrid cold. I had to start walking. I really wanted to run the entire 5k, but with this cold, there was no way it was going to happen. So, I ran when I could for as long as I could and then I walked. It worked out that I was running and walking in about half mile increments. So, I'm pretty confident that I ran half the 5k. And that's great for me!
As we approached our last color explosion zone, I told Nadia I was ready to run. I wanted to run from there all the way to the finish line. Just as we got through the blue zone, my dear friend Taryn, who had already finished the run herself, had run back to greet us and run with us. That was pretty awesome of her considering she's pregnant!
Here's a video of Nadia, me, and Taryn crossing the finish line! I'm in the middle, Nadia's on my left, and Taryn's on my right. The guy yelling so loud in the video is my proud and adoring husband.
Here's a great still shot of us crossing the line.
After the run was complete and we experienced the final color explosion, we were all completely covered in rainbows of various colors and shades. What an awesome experience!
Here's to many more 5k's! :)
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