Getting a running start for the New Year!

Yep, I did it again. I survived another 5K.

The Dude and I took off this morning and headed to Wichita for the race. We got started later than I had wanted to, and there were a few moments of nervous panic when we couldn't find a place to park, but we ended up getting there with about 15 minutes to spare.

The weather was beautiful - but it was COLD! It was one of those days where if you were in the sun, it wasn't bad - but get in the shadow of a building and wow - yeah - it was cold.

So here are your complimentary shots of the day. :)

First, the crowd at the start. Of course, I made my way to the back of the pack to get started so that I wouldn't get trampled by the speed demons. I might be slow, but I'm not dumb.

I kept my phone with me to use my running app, but I couldn't resist snapping a couple of pictures. It was just a beautiful day. If you look closely, you can see the runners coming back up on the other side of the river.

The Dude had Daniel and my camera at the finish line, and he got some pictures of some of the more interesting characters in the race...

....and then there was me.

After the race, we opted to not stick around for the complimentary chili and cocoa - there were just too many people, so we headed back to the van to go out to lunch. Daniel has definitely found himself a new buddy in The Dude - or maybe it's the other way around. Either way, it's a good thing, and seeing moments like this makes me smile.

So we hit the Golden Corral for lunch...and dessert...

So the final results are as follows:

My official time: 42:29
Pace: 13:44 per mile
Overall ranking: 316th out of 384
Ranking for age group (40-44, female): 23rd out of 27
Ranking for all females: 163rd out of 212

Overall, I'm happy with it. It wasn't my best 5K time, but it wasn't my worst. I've been working on finding more races so that I can meet my goal of doing one per month, and I have a bunch lined out. The Dude has already graciously offered to help in any way that he can.

Which leads me to my final thought for the night....The Dude.

He has been so amazing to me and to my kids - but today in particular, he did something that means more to me than I can ever explain.

He was there for me. He was at the start and he was waiting for me at the finish - and he supported me and cheered for me and honestly, inspired me to keep going until the end. Knowing that he was there waiting for me made running 3.1 miles worth it. When in the past, I've been told that I could never do something like this, he reminded me that I could do it.

And for that, I can't thank him enough.

I'm crazy about this guy - just in case you didn't know that already.