Run for Riley 5K

My home county seat of LaPorte, Indiana takes the Fourth of July pretty seriously. When I heard that the LaPorte Kiwanis Club was coordinating a 5K “Run for Riley” (Riley Children’s Hospital) prior to the big parade, I decided to sign up. I didn’t decide to sign up right away, because I knew it’s always a million degrees and humid on the 4th, so I wasn’t so sure. But alas, I signed up… and wouldn’t you know it, at the time of the event, it was 80-some degrees and humid.

There hadn’t been a pre-parade run in many years, so this seemed to be a new venture for the Kiwanians. Due to the newness, the attendance was pretty low, which I think affected my run! You see, in a well-attended event, there are always people around you, and that helps keep me motivated (kicking into high gear and passing people once in awhile is a real rush). In this run, that wasn’t the case… once we started and everyone settled into their pace, we were all spread out.

The route was an out and back route from the west end of town. When I hit the one-mile mark, I was doing great, right around nine minutes. From there on it seemed to be an uphill battle! I don’t mean that literally, LaPorte is really pretty flat. ;) When I got to the halfway turn-around point (and finally a water stop), I was really starting the feel the heat.

It was hard to keep going. I kept having negative thoughts about whether or not I could do it. As I passed the hospital, I thought that if I didn’t think I could finish, that’d be a pretty good place to stop. After passing the hospital, I just had to throw in a long speed-walking interval, because I was really not in good condition… I was getting the chills and my legs felt like they were going to collapse. I thought about asking some of the parade-goers for water… I probably should have.

My sister and my mom were waiting for me at the finish line, and I suspect they were getting concerned when 30 minutes passed, then 31, 32, 33, and I still wasn’t back yet. My sister knows that I usually take care of business in approximately 30 minutes or less. However, on this miserably humid and warm day, that warranted more walking than usual, my finish time was 33 and a half! That’s my worst event time, but I’m sure darned proud of myself for finishing!  (And there were still plenty of people behind me.)

Following are a few pictures from the day.

I clearly didn't realize what I was in for prior to the run!

Yep, it was a pretty small crowd.

That's my mom and my sister's dog (Bean) waiting at the finish line.

I survived!

The look on my face in this pic amused me!

Relaxin' with Bean.

According to the clock in the background, it took me 10+ minutes before I was ready to cheese it up for a picture!  :)