my very first race

the night before the 5k run, i placed the chips on carl's and my shoes. this is it! we are really going to do our first run ever.



5 minutes to go... can you feel the anticipation in the air???







after the race, we were rewarded with the finisher's medal, bottle of water and lots of snacks to replenish and refresh.





i greatly appreciated the motivational cheer from the volunteers around the course. even though, i trained to run 5k for the last few months, running in the race was very different from when i was running on my own. the route was new to me and having other people run along with me also made a huge difference. i clocked in at 31.55 minutes. this is a little under average time according to the results they announced. yay! i wish i hadn't walked the uphill portion of the race though, then i could have made it just about 30 minutes. but for my very first run, i am really proud i finished the entire race. i really feel good about myself and i feel this is something i can do for the rest of my life.

there were lot of young participants (ages 15 and under) and older participants (even 70+) that have finished the race before me. ouch... this really mean i have to bring my game on next time. well, i don't want to tire myself out by overdoing it, but slowly i want to shorten my time and eventually participate 10k and half marathon in next couple of years. i was never a runner nor i was active in sports but running has become my latest obsession. the race became the catalyst. i made excuses not to go for a run while i was training but now i regret it. sure, i am really tired and my legs are sore, but i felt jolt of adrenalin running through every inch of my body after the race was done, total exhilaration!



yes, i look flushed and messy (do i look like i have no hair?)but so proud!


UPDATED!
i got some photos from the official photographer's website. they are proofs. i guess that's how i look when i run. i was kinda hoping for a ridiculously photogenic girl moment, but... maybe next time. i am smiling in my first photo though.... but what am i doing in the second one? weird...




this is the moment just before crossing the finish line. the little boy all of a sudden appeared from nowhere and ran incredibly fast the last ten seconds and finished just before me. aaaaahhhhh you stole my thunder little boy!!!



photos from here.
thanks team for amazing photographs.