not quite a personal best

it's hard to believe it's only been one year since my very first 5K.  i feel like i've been doing these runs forever by now, even though it's still kind of crazy to me that i'm running at all.

last weekend was the second annual fit 4 fall 5K, sponsored by local olympian hero bryan clay.  i love having runs this close to home, and it was a no-brainer for me to sign up for this one again considering i run the same course on a regular basis anyway.  and just like last year, the day of the race dawned cloudy and gray.  i got there nice and early in order to find decent parking and get my bib and t-shirt without having to elbow my way through the crowds.

as i stood and waited for my turn, the man himself came out to make a few announcements and introduce the race photographer.

too bad for me, though - when i got to the front of the line it turned out i'd been standing in the late registration line.  bah.  except how was i supposed to know that i should've been waiting elsewhere when they posted such pertinent information in a rather inconvenient location?

hmph.  oh, well.  i still managed to get my stuff with plenty of time to head back to the car and drop off the tee that i wasn't going to wear right away.

by the time i got back, the crowds were considerably larger.  i was glad i hadn't chosen to sleep that extra 15 minutes after all.

just like last year, there were lots of bryan clay promos out there.

i figured i'd take a picture of the prizes, since this was the closest i'd ever get to 'em.

because everyone was still checking in and visiting the various vendor booths, i managed to get shots of the start and finish line without a bunch of people in the way.

the clay family did the same thing, only with a professional photographer to capture their shot.  i probably looked like such a creeper taking this with my phone.

when they were done, i debated going over to get a picture with them. but as the kids ran off to see their friends and his wife headed into another direction, i felt kinda weird about it.  and so i didn't.

by the time the race actually started, it was pouring rain.  i like running in the rain, though.  kinda reminds me of being a little kid playing in the puddles.  only now, i get to breeze through my run without overheating.  it was great, and totally contributed to the awesome pace i managed to maintain for the entire three miles.  i didn't take a single walk break, and i was so proud of myself.  and this year, it was kind of cool to see bryan standing just beyond the finish line, high-fiving everyone who crossed it.

now, according to my nike app, i'd run a pretty damn good race (for me) - it recorded my average pace at 9:49/mile.  compared to my usual sub-11:00 time, this was freaking awesome.  but when the official results came in, it showed me at 10:13/mile.  boo.  i liked nike's results better.  although either way, i still didn't beat last year's time of 29:51.  oh, well.  i still felt damn good about myself, so i sucked it up, went over to bryan, and got this:

and then i headed over to a booth handing out protein recovery drinks and scored a free shaker cup - in my favorite color, no less.

i snagged my free swag bag, and then i was outta there.

just another race bib to add to the collection.  oh, and another t-shirt, too.  as soon as i'm done with my 2012 runs, i'm gonna sit down and make myself a nice little quilt with all my race shirts.  cool, right?  better than having a giant stack of shirts taking up valuable space in my dresser.

as long as it turns out nicely, i suppose.  we'll see.