I did it!!

The full 5K...3.1 miles. I was able to maintain my run/jog for 3.1 miles! Without stopping or walking! I wasn't sure if I could ever get there, but I did! I averaged a run of a 16:21 minute/mile pace and finished it in 50:50 minutes. My goal was not to focus on my time but just to keep running the whole thing. And let me tell you, I'm pretty proud that I could do that. It wasn't easy. 

First of all, the course wasn't 'mostly flat' as the website made me believe. It was very hilly! And I felt like we were constantly going up! Never down. There were fast steep hills and slow gradual hills and little jerk hills who seemed to mock me.  

There was also an issue with cars. Since I was in the back of the pack, the cops were pretty lax about letting the cars go on the route. There were times the cars were right on my back and one time a cop let a car turn in front of me! I was not happy about that. 

Other than that, my biggest struggle was keeping up my mentality. The first mile was hard. I kept thinking, "Well, surely I've passed it and didn't see the sign." But I didn't. Once I finally passed it, I felt more in my groove and the rest of the race went faster.  After the two mile mark was the very long gradual hill. Luckily, Kelly Clarkson came on my iPod and told me, "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger." And that was enough to motivate me up that hill. Thank you, Kelly.

All in all, I feel pretty good. And I'm glad it's over. Ellie finished her race in 36:04 minutes and Juloa finished in 50:16 minutes. Below are pictures of me coming to and crossing the finish line. I will have close ups of our 5K Derby Gal costumes soon. We had tank tops made with the logos designed by Joe! They are so cute.