9.5 Things I Learned in my 4th 5k Race

1. If your Mother In Law does most of your laundry, and she does some pretty darn crazy things sometimes, you may find (1 mile into the race) that the t-shirt you grabbed early in the AM, but didn’t put on until closer to race time, may not be quite as clean and “scent free” as you assumed it was since it was hanging in your closet amongst all the clean shirts.


2. If your favorite running skirt is now too big and does not stay in the places it is supposed to, and you buy a “not as nice” replacement, it may lead to chaffing in unpleasant places. The Body Glide you bought for your last triathlon will work MIRACLES in preventing further chaffing.

3. The replacement skirt from #2 may have some “quality control” issues that won’t come to light until 2.2 miles in the race when you can not kit your full stride anymore because the hem stitches from both legs of the “undershorties” have come loose and tangled together. It is NOT an easy problem to rectify while running.

4. The paramedics working the race, for some reason only known to them, will be stationed at the bottom of a big freakin hill (pretty much all of mile 2 was a giant hill), and not the TOP.

5. Even if you cut 6 minutes (yes…6 Minutes!!!) off your time, your fabulous friend’s fabulous 9 year old son will still beat you.

6. You might just be devastated when people (read “men”) you THOUGHT were your friends finish the race ahead of you, but don’t wait to high five you at the finish line. Freakin Jerks. :-)

7. A small, inaugural 5k race to benefit a local elementary school had the BEST food, best goody bags, and best sponsors of every 5k I have done thus far.

8. The clothing I own that actually fits me is now officially 65% race t-shirts and athletic clothes, 25% socks, and 10% regular work clothes

9. Your cat can be almost as good as an alarm clock if the alarm you set (and triple checked) doesn’t go off.

9.5 The running training I did (which is run exactly 4 times in the last 3 months) is enough so I can’t say, “I really need to learn how to run!” this time.
Next up:
One Thanksgiving Turkey Trot
One Bolder Boulder 10 k
One Olympic Distance Triathlon
One trip to the nuthouse

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