First Ever 5K… CHECK.
This past Monday, on Memorial Day, I ran my first ever 5K. It was rough (damn that kid who gave me my race packet and told me the course was “pretty easy, mostly downhill”), I had to walk twice due to a couple of seriously daunting inclines, I saw stars when I crossed the finish line (and not the good ones, like Conan O’Brien or Mark Wahlberg… the “I’m going to pass out soon” kind), BUT…
I finished. 
Jim was wielding my Canon on continuous shot mode at the start and finish line, so here’s a couple shots of the take off (I’m in purple with black pants):
I started off going WAY too fast. I was caught up with both the adrenaline and determination NOT to be at the end of the pack right at the start. I should have paced myself a bit more.
Here I am coming down the home stretch:
And, the push to the finish!!
You can see my family at the finish line in the background right as I crossed:
FINAL STATS:
44:58 finish time
14:28 mile pace
273rd place, Women’s Overall
41st place in 20-29 age group
(I was NOT LAST in any category!)
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I also had a lovely day (after a brief scare with the weather) with family and friends for Memorial Day afterward. It was a REALLY fantastic day all around despite muggy, then rainy, then muggy weather. The evening was beautiful. I didn’t take a single picture during the cookout, but sometimes zero pictures means you were just too busy having fun in the moment (or too tired to multi-task after doing a 45 minute run). 
A week after the race, I’m still feeling really proud of myself, although I think I’m going to try and tackle a 2-mile on July 5th instead of a 5-mile. I want to stick with a distance I can comfortably do and maybe improve my time. Anyone want to join me?