5K

Starting out, smiling at Anna

On Saturday, I ran a 5k. I found out about it before we even moved here and have been training for it. I was a bit nervous because my leg had been hurting me but I took some ibuprofen beforehand and it didn't bother me too much. The race was up in Volcano Village (which is near the volcano national park) and the weather was perfect. Sunny and cool but warm enough once you got going. Poor Jason and Anna were quite cold. There were a lot of trees so they kept things nicely shaded.

Rounding the final turn.

I hadn't done a race in a LONG time and I was a little surprised at how nervous/concerned I was. I worried about my leg, being too cold (I'm used to hot now but not cold), the altitude (it was at 4000 ft) and had very low expectations for my time. I needn't have worried, I was a rock star! Once I got going my leg slightly twinged but not enough to slow me down. It was warm enough that the shade felt good. I didn't notice the altitude and I came in in 25:44 which averages 8:18 per mile! I even passed someone near the end that I had been running with for the last half. It was so great that I'm already planning what I'm going to do next time.

There was even a playground for Anna.