Baby Steps Memorial 5k

By now you've already seen the pictures but let me tell you about this race...



It was AWESOME!!! And I say that after it POURED DOWN RAIN for several hours!!!!



I get there and it's what I already consider to be "pouring" and I'm thinking, "Do I really want to do this?" I should have just blown this one off and went to the SIP last night!!! lol But I'm gonna wait it out and see what happens since I drove all the way to freakin' McCalla!!!



Well, what happens is...it starts raining HARDER!!!! Ugh...and I have on a WHITE shirt...great!



I'm texting Jeff & Donna and wondering what I should do...I mean...I'm no princess, I don't think I'll melt or anything but I'm worried...what if I get sick? What if I slip and fall down and then am unable to do all my other, bigger races...or worse...miss my Zumba certification in October? I can't take that chance! So I'm thinking I'm gonna either consider this a donation or I'm just gonna do the 1 mile fun run....



Well, I get over to the starting point and I see all these other people, including soaking wet dogs....and I think no way am I wimping out!!! So I decide to go ahead and start and just see how far I can get...



I actually LOVED it....something about being at that park and running in the rain was so cleansing to me...and little did I know at the time how MUCH I would NEED that!!! I took it all in...the scenery, the water, the nice people I passed (and who passed me!) and I absolutely LOVE how professional it was all set up! Water stations, medics, the timer at the finish line...very organized!



I was definitely SOAKED at the end...I'm sure I was very attractive looking! lol Not that I'm ever attractive after a 5k but still....lol



I couldn't believe that I did not completely RUIN my phone or my MP3 player...I was afraid to leave them in the bag under the pavillion so I tucked them inside my clothing where they STILL got soaked! But they were okay...thank you, Lord!



When I crossed the finish line it felt good to hear people saying, "Good job" and "Thanks for coming out" and I was impressed with my time--54:25. Not my BEST time ever but considering the rain...I was VERY happy!



I just stood there for a minute, feeling like Tim Robbins at the end of the movie, Shawshank Redemption...cleansed...redeemed. And thankful I had no injuries to jeopardize my other goals!



I will definitely do this race again and from now on, I'm gonna pay better attention to the weather (even though they aren't accurate most of the time!) and start packing a poncho and a DIFFERNT shirt (other than white, just in case! :D)



Blessings...