So the horn went off and off I ran. Well...not really. I was at the back of the pack so I walked until people ahead of me were finally running. For the first part, we circled around the elementary school's field and were running on grass. I quickly found my spot, though I was jogging amongst the walkers. Oh well.

At the end of the field we ran through the school's parking lot, then had a cop stop traffic for us to cross the street. On the other side of the street was the start of the trail, where the majority of our run would be. I like trail running, so I really enjoyed this run. I thought we'd be running on the streets of Fullerton...so this was much better. I did have to sidestep several horse poo piles, but I missed them all!

The trail was pretty busy with other neighborhood runners, walkers, and the occasional mountain biker. I was trying to keep a pace similar to my training runs, as I didn't want to risk injury. I had decided that I would run 15 minutes, then walk one minute, the entire way. I was nearing the one mile marker, all excited to get some water when it happened...the fast people were already coming back and passing us! D'oh! This was when I realized I need to have a running shirt made up that says "I'm really a swimmer". I checked my watch, and my first mile took 19 minutes. This is a terrible time...I know...but I need to remind you (and myself) that 7 months ago I could only run for a single minute...TOTAL. So, this was a huge improvement. I'm proud of that 19 minute mile! :)

As the fast people were passing me...rapidly...I saw Brenda! Way to go Brenda! I got to the first water station and walked for a second, long enough to down the better part of a cup. Then I was off! At one point we crossed a street and continued on another trail. There were two volunteers that were very sweet there cheering us on.

This part of the trail then took us past a lake. This was cool, although the lake was an eery, unnatural blue. Creepy. There were ducks, fisherman...it was all very quaint. I was continuing to see other runners, the "less fast, but still way faster than me group" was now heading back. Several people kept saying "Keep going! The turnaround is coming!"

We ran through a gate and finally hit the turnaround point. Now was my chance to see who was actually slower than me. There were a lot less people then I remember seeing at the start of the race behind me, yet I was only passed by 3 people. Later my husband told me that some of the walkers had only walked to the one mile mark and back. That explains it.

After the turnaround I commented on two ducks that were fighting in the lake to another guy, who seemed much less amused by it then me. Oh well. This time when I passed the two volunteers at the road, they seemed bored, and their cheers were a tad more patronizing. They were quoting a cover girl ad, or something. Whatever.

I got to the two-mile marker and saw that I had dropped two minutes and did the second mile in 17 minutes. That's cool. I was more cautious for the first and was now getting into a good groove. I got my next cup of water and apparently the volunteers at the two mile mark were a tad stingier with the water. What's up with that???

As I was running the last mile, I began to pick up the pace. At the start, my goal was to finish in 45 minutes. This was a random guess, as I haven't timed myself running yet. When I saw the time on the first mile, I upped my goal to one hour.

As I was closing in on the end of the trail, I saw Brenda and several of the other fast people doing a second lap just for fun. She waved and cheered me on. At this point, I was torn...I could keep at my same workout pace, or start speeding up, since I knew I could, but risk injury. I decided this was a race, if I could speed up, I should. So, I did and passed several people.

We left the trail and now had to run uphill on a sidewalk back to the school. My training has all been flat, so this uphill run was a challenge, but kind of fun. Now usually when I train I try to keep my running heart rate under 70% max. For most of the race it had been in the high 70's but hit 90% on the uphill.

The sidewalk then flattened out as we rounded the school and came back through the parking lot. I saw my husband and kids waving and taking pictures and could see the finish line. I also saw the official photographer and so I smiled for the last part of my run. Last night I finally found my Brightroom pictures from the OW swim and I look pissed! I hadn't smiled as I was running into the finish chute, so this time, I wanted prettier pictures! :) Yes...forget the results, folks...it's all about cute pictures to show everyone!

I rounded the last turn, ran under the big balloon arch and had a volunteer rip off the bottom of my number. I did it. I am offically a runner and have completed my first race. It felt good! It also felt good to realize that I dropped two more minutes and ran my last mile in 15 minutes.

I think I need to eat a little more in the morning. My stomach started growling at the beginning of the third mile. Also, I would stay off my feet the day before and eat a healthier dinner the night before.

My legs had felt good at the end of the run, but as soon as I stopped, my right shin began to ache. I got my Endurox out and stretched a little. Then, I walked around for a while to stretch it out. I walked around the basketball courts for a while, then we started walking over to the post-race activities. I checked the race results but they weren't up yet.

There was a whole health fair tied in with this run, so we walked around looking at the different booths. I saw that Jamba Juice was giving out smoothies, but still had Endurox to drink. We talked to the people at the Bonk Breaker booth and got a few bars. I went back for a smoothie and they were out. Buzz kill. I grabbed a cheese bagel and gnawed on that. My kids were scheduled to do the fun run soon, so I grabbed an energy drink and headed over to the start with them. I then saw a guy I recognized from the OW race last week. I said hi and we laughed about both getting our butts kicked by those super fast MV kids last week. Nice guy.


The biggest issue is lack of training. I've only been running for 7 months, so I'm still building up distance.


Now that I was done, we got the kids to the starting line of their race. It was a kids' .5K that was just around the school's field. While the volunteer explained the course, most kids, including my own, weren't really paying attention, so the guy had them watch him run it, which seemed to help.

The run started and the kids were all TOO CUTE! My kids got toward the front of the pack pretty quickly, with my son not too far ahead of my daughter. This did NOT sit well with my daughter, as she is 15 months older and expects to be faster. She was faster until recently and is not cool with her little brother beating her.

Both of my kids did well. I saw them speed up and slow down at different places. As the rounded the last corner, I laughed as my little rule-follower son didn't cut the corner like the other kids, and went farther. Cute. They finished well, toward the front of the pack. Most of the kids that beat them were older. At the finish line they got medals, which they loved and are still wearing as they watch cartoons! :)

We gave them their gatorade (in Spiderman and Dora drink bottles, no less) and their energy bars, which they gobbled down. We then went to wait in a rather lengthy line for the balloon animal guy. My son got an elephant, and my daughter a snake. We waited a while because two teenage girls wanted balloon animals. Seems to me that if you're old enough to wear a bra, you're probably too old for a balloon animal...but hey...to each his own! At this point the event was being cleaned up. I saw my results and was stoked to not be last in my age group or overall. That was my only real goal, other than finishing, which I knew I could do.

At this point they were giving out medals and we saw that Brenda won our age group! Woo hoo! Go Brenda!

Now I started getting stomach cramps. Not sure why, but they weren't pleasant. So, off to the car to head home. I had a great morning and will never forget my first 5K!