Rewind ...............

So yesterday I came home and posted a quick shot. I told ya about the end but not the process. Yes I told ya how cold it was but that was it.

So, here we go. This being my second race I still am not sure how these things work. Two weeks ago we parked close enough to the start-finish that we could sit in the car and hear what the announcer was saying. This week  the parking area was a long way from the finish area. The start was in another place altogether.

Yes this was a 5k and a 10k, I just assumed they were starting at the same time, 7:30. So I stretched and got ready and was on the start line at 7:25.

Then they finally announce 10k starts at 7:30 followed 15 minutes later by the 5k! Not that big of deal BUT, one thing I learned two weeks ago was don't over dress.

Two weeks ago I did just that! I was so over dressed I was sweating like a pig and it was only 30 degrees! So this being race number two I figured I would apply some of my limited knowledge!

I promise I was not over dressed for this one and it was 19 degrees!

So that being said I sure wasn't ready to stand there for another 20 minutes before we got to go!

Back to the car I went! Dammit, that was not the start I was looking for!

Then 15minutes later I emerged again from my heated hideout and stretched again. By the way I am just doing what everybody else is doing when I say I was stretching.

I have no clue what I am doing!

Then they said 10 seconds! Yes this time I lined up farther toward the front. That was the other lesson I learned at the first race, I lined up way to far in the back! Not this time!

Well we take off and it's uphill for the first 2 or 3 hundred yards! Then we make a left and it's down hill for about the same before we turn and head up the road. So I find a rhythm and I am moving along.

By the time I find the 1 mile sign I am thinking that it sure seemed like it took a long time to get through the first mile! I am thinking about how quick a mile goes by on the bike. You tend to take it for granted, but 18-19 average speed on a bike is covering some ground!

So I feel like I am doing "OK". Well finally I get to the 2 mile sign, now I am in no man's land as far as I am concerned. Yes I did the 4 mile trail run, but I walked quit a bit of it! Partly because of the amount of people who were in the way and the fact I sucked.

Yes I have ran a few times between the two races so I felt like I was ready. But, I still hadn't ran a full 5k. But I felt good, so I kept my head down and kept on getting it.

Finally I could see the lights for the stadium where we were finishing. I knew I had it then! One lap around the track and I was finished!

Next one, the 23rd.............