Everything felt great from the get go! I alway start off way too fast and crash at the end so I told myself to keep it steady and run my own race. I peeked at my Garmin a few times and I saw that I was running at a much faster pace than usual, I contemplated slowing down, but everything felt so great that I just kept it up. I don't know what the deal was but I was able to push it up all of the hills (usually I struggle big time) and then recover on the downhills. I have never felt so good throughout an entire race! I became a little choked up when I turned the corner and an all womens choir was singing outside of a church - they were all decked out in pink and they sounded amazing - all I could think about was my mom and how I missed her so much. I collected myself though and kept on trucking. I turned the last corner onto Hillsborough Street and I kicked it into high gear. I peeked at my Garmin and I saw that I could break 27 min if I kept it up and I was so excited! However, I realized that I kicked it too early and I suddenly felt like I was going to hurl (embarrassing). I slowed to a walk, stopped altogether for about 20 sec because I was gagging (if I kept moving then I *definitely* would have hurled) and it really sucked because the finish line was less than 50 yards away. I finally got everything under control and sprinted to the finish line... and to a new PR! I don't know where this pace came from, I really surprised myself with this race, but I felt fantastic (besides the whole almost puking thing) and I was so happy!

Um... not almost hurl within site of the finish line. Seriously - it was an absolutely fantastic run.

I walked back to the New Balance tent and stretched while waiting for my teammates to finish. I chugged a bottle of water, ate a delicious brownie, and then I walked around the race site.


The whole almost puking thing - that's it. :)


This is an awesome race and it's for a great cause. There are tons of people that come out for it and there are several different events, too (competitive 5K, noncompetitive 5K, womens only walk, survivors walk, kids runs, etc). The race is supported by tons of companies/vendors and there were tents surrounding the site with a lot of great giveaways. I walked away with three grocery recycle bags, tons of keychains, a scarf, a headband, and a few other goodies.