The run was great! I'm still in shock over my time!

The course was at the park where I usually train, though a different part of it, so I was at least relatively familiar with the area. The 1 mile marker was in the wrong place so the splits were a bit messed up. When I hit the first "mile" I was so upset by how slow I was, and then the finish line came way earlier than I expected so my time ended up way better than I could've ever expected. The water station gave out full water bottles instead of cups. I didn't feel right throwing a bottle out after just a couple sips so I carried it with me for the rest of the race.

The start was split into 4 groups: runners w/dogs, runners w/out dogs, walkers w/dogs, and walkers w/out dogs. To my horror, runners w/out dogs (me) were at the very front and there were only about 10 of us. I was scared to death to be up in front and wasn't even sure I should be considering myself a runner since I knew I wouldn't be running the whole thing. Didn't want to embarass myself or have ppl and their dogs running over me. I did meet a new friend at the start...it was also her first race ever so we were freaking out together! Having her there made it a lot less scary! At the start she said it was easy to get going because "at least we can pretend like we're being chased by a pack of wild dogs" which is what it sounded like w/all the excited barking dogs behind us!

I was able to run the first 7 minutes (which is great for me because usually I don't run more than 3 min. at a time w/out walking during training runs) so I could at least pretend I'm really a runner. It was difficult psychologically having to start in the front because I was getting passed continually for the entire first mile of the race w/no one in front of me to pass! Definitely felt slow....After the first 7 minutes I kept a pace of 2-3 min. running per 1 min. walking.

I should probably work on pacing more. I think that will probably come with more race experience, but it's hard to find a pace that is doable but will allow me to give it my everything. Part of the problem was the let down feeling after the first "mile" thinking I had a lot longer to go then I did. Had I known how close the finish line was I probably would've pushed it harder towards the end. I'm definitely happy with my time though so I'm not too worried about it!

Walked around aimlessly hoping to find something to eat and the promised "goody bag" mentioned before the race. Unfortunately everything there was for dogs. You could get tons of free food, treats, and toys for your dog, but nothing for ppl. No food that you didn't have to pay for, not even a bagel or fruit or anything! And the food they were selling was hot dogs....didn't sound even remotely appealing! The finish line was somewhat anti-climatic w/out the timing or anything so I mostly just wandered around thinking "what now?" I did get a long walk in though checking out all the booths and such. Made me miss my dog who is 2 states away at my parents house! :(


Well...being 50 lbs lighter, in shape, and without all the shin pain of the last few weeks would've helped! lol Seriously though, now that my shins appear to be ok for running I need to run more and work on pacing. I also need to start building some more race experience so I'm not a crazed bundle of nerves beforehand! For things w/in my control at this point, nothing much was limiting since I finished 5.5 min. faster than I thought I could!


This event is definitely created to be more of a walk than a run! There were tons of walkers and only a few runners. The run was super spread out so for the most part it didn't even feel like a race. It wasn't even oficially timed! However there were so many walkers that I was about 2/3 of the way done before the final walkers had even made through the start! It was a good low pressure first race though, and fun to see all the different dogs and dog related demos (flyball, disc dogs, best trick contest, etc.).