Wild Goose Chase 5K

SNOWED all day yesterday, so I kind of HOPED I'd get to the 5K race site this morning and find that they'd cancelled it due to weather.

~No Such Luck~

I arrived at 9:00 this morning in Delta, Utah, for the Wild Goose Chase 5K/10K Run/Walk. I had signed up for the 5k Walk section, but planned to jog as much as I could, in spite of the fact that this morning I was only one pound lower than my highest weight of

ALL TIME!

I've been a faithful exerciser since January, but not so faithful with the eating habits, so I haven't dropped any weight.... but I still felt ready to plug along and do my best to finish a 5K today....

Mostly so I could say "BEEN THERE, DONE THAT.. GOT THE T-SHIRT!"

I met up with my friends Brent and Amanda and we stretched out together, but I knew I'd never be able to keep up with them. Brent's been running really regularly and Amanda's a tiny little thing with the determination to be successful at whatever she tries. So I stuck Kurt's skull candies in my ears, shuffled the iPod and zoned out at the start line. I kept up with Amanda for a minute, but she was awesome. She finished 6 minutes faster than her best training time, in spite of the fact that we were trudging through

MUD as we circled the Gunnison Bend Reservoir.
I jogged some, walked some, but was determined to jog the last 1/4 mile (Because everyone could see me!) Got close to what I thought what was the finish line, only to find that it was about another 1/8 mile or so. Thought I'd

cry.....

And then my

GUARDIAN ANGEL

appeared at my side. Amanda's daughter, Kourtney, materialized out of the blue and jogged with me to the finish line.

"You're almost there!"

she'd say.. and I believed her.... and I was...

ALMOST THERE!

And then I was.. THERE... done.... I'd finished a 5K with a body that really shouldn't have been able to do it. It was 30 degrees outside and I was burning hot.. At Mile 1, I had ripped off my gloves. Mile 1.5, I lost the scarf around my ears. And LONGED to have dressed in layers so I could shed the hoodie, but alas, I wore the Utah Jazz hoodie through the entire race. I drove all the way home, 50 miles, with the windows down in the Jeep and my face was still this red when I got home. And I'm ready to do it again. Get a little lighter, a little faster and a little better each time....

Thank you

to everyone who said I could. I did.