Race Day

I ran the Teton Dam 5K yesterday. I did okay. My time was a nine minute improvement from when I ran it two years ago, but I still feel like I could have done better. My overall time was 35 minutes and 10 seconds (or so--I forget exactly what the seconds was, but it was 35 minutes). I didn't get any pictures taken of the race. Hopefully they'll get the results posted on the website so I'll have proof that I was there and ran the race.

I felt ill-prepared for this race. I think that's why I didn't do as well as I'd hoped. The first 1.5+ miles of the race were uphill. Up a steep hill. That also meant that the last half of the race or so was downhill, which was a nice relief for my lungs and muscles, but hard on my toes (I think I need new running shoes. My toes feet kept slipping forward in my shoes and I felt like I was going to get blisters, but I didn't. Phew). Anyway. I hadn't been training on hills. My usual running route involves a short (two city blocks, tops), low-grade uphill climb, then a longer not-too-steep downhill descent. So I think I'm going to start altering my route in hopes of being prepared for all kinds of races. I'd also like to add some distance and speed to my morning runs, too. We'll see how it goes...

David and his friends ran in the relay marathon, each taking four to six miles of the marathon. They increased their time from last year, but I think they still enjoyed themselves. David said his only regret was starting out so fast. He wanted to be in the lead at the beginning because that was where the camera crews were. So he started really haulin'. Another runner caught up with him and David asked him what their pace was. The guy said they were on pace for a 5 1/2 minute mile. David wisely slowed it down. A lot. He averaged 7 minute miles for the first 3 miles, but the fourth mile was uphill and with his fast start, he was too tired to go faster than an eleven minute mile. So he has a few regrets about his race, too.

Drew and Owen had lots of fun riding in our friends' car, cheering on the runners and eating suckers and chips (just what two-year-old boys need, right?). Samantha was pretty well behaved, too, until one of the boys kicked her in the face. She got over it quickly, though. So it turned out to be a really fun weekend.

The only un-fun part of the weekend happened on Friday evening when Abby's mom wrecked on her motorcycle and broke her leg. Last we heard, she was scheduled for surgery on Saturday about the time we were heading home. Our prayers go out for a speedy recovery!