Kim versus the 5K: Chick-fil-A 5K

I just love me the local 5Ks, you know?!  So nice not to have to drive down town and deal with parking.  Last night I pulled a "Kim".  You know what that means.  total. aggie. moment.  I knew I had to pick-up my race packet at the Chick-fil-A off of 2920.  I was apparently not clear on which part of 2920, so despite the fact I was coming from my parent's house which is closer to the one I should have been going to, I proceeded to go to the incorrect Chick-fil-A.  About 2 minutes into my uncomfortable awkwardness of standing around inside the wrong location, it dawned on me that there were no packets being distributed and that I was clearly mistaken.  I used my trusty Android to find the correct location and went on my not-so-merry way.

It was a cutie packet in a Chick-fil-A box instead of a bag.  We got a t-shirt, a kiddie toothbrush, coupons for free Chick-fil-A, a pen (I have a thing about pens...bet you didn't know that), our respective bibs with safety pins, etc.

I placed all my gear on the dining room table the night before.  Man - it sure does take a lot of stuff just to run 3.1 miles.  Sheesh.

I had the best intentions of going to bed early, but...well...you know me.  I got about 4 hours and 45 minutes of sleep.  Blech.

I met up with Rachel first.  We headed over to Lowe's to use the facilities.  There was a chain across an area near the bathroom that Rachel and I had to climb across.  I made a joke about the turtle (me) doing a hurdle before the big race.  We then headed over to the Chick-fil-A to pick-up our time chip.  This was when we found Lauren.

We started the race - it was a decent route - out and back with a few supporters sporting bells along the path.  I made the decision to run the entire 3.1 (sans intervals) knowing that a PR wouldn't happen as I just can't seem to run as "fast" this way.  For the record, there is no accomplishment for me in running the whole thing without walk breaks as I run 3 miles without stopping all the time now, but still...it was my first 5K to run in its entirety.

I felt good for the entire run - had my breathing under control, etc.  I have to laugh at how different a 5K is for me now versus a year ago.  A year ago I would be all sore later that day and the next.  No soreness today, of course, and tomorrow I'm going for my long run of 7 to 8 miles.

I finished strong, was handed a bottle of water, and found Rachel (who handed me a banana) and then Lauren.  Lauren had found Brittaney, a local runner and blogger we were meeting for the first time IRL.  Brittaney won 1st place in her age group - AWESOME JOB!  Both Rachel and Lauren PR'd this race - AWESOME JOB!

After the award ceremony, we took some pics (of course - we all blog, you know!) and then Rachel, Lauren, and I headed over to Starbucks for some chitchat.

Official Time:  41:59
Laps  (Garmin stats):  Mile 1 - 12:55
                                 Mile 2 - 13:25
                                 Mile 3 - 13:32
                                 Mile 0.18 - 2:14 (which is a pace of 12:11 which means I busted a$$ - hahaha)

Finishing Song:  Ke$ha's Take It Off (I know a lot of peeps don't dig her music, but I can't help but have a few of her tunes on my iPod for running.  If it's got the right beat, I'm down with it, yo)

Next Stop:  Bayou City Classic 10K - March 12th