Polio Purple Pinkie 5k Run

Today I met a few friends for the Polio Purple Pinkie 5k at Bartley Ranch, which was put on by the Rotaract Club. Fellow UNR Wind Symphony alumni trumpeters Andy (well, sometimes trumpet sometimes euphonium) and Ben plus my Team Library Dork member Turi gathered and shivered (well, I shivered) before the race- I was bouncing around ready to get going a good half hour before the horn blew at 9:00. (I ate a piece of toast with almond butter for breakfast, and apparently that is good pre-race food.) There was a pretty good turn out, and everyone was super enthusiastic, especially those putting on the show- this was their first event, and were even painting some of the runners' pinkies with purple nail polish before the race (I didn't though- I didn't notice until just before we started, and figured I'd make a mess of it anyway). Ben, Turi and I kicked off at an easy pace while Andy (with his sub 20 goal, which he changed to sub 25 after we pointed out the hill at the end) was out of sight almost from the start line. We chatted amiably running slightly downhill (weird for me because I've always run this course in the opposite direction, counter-clockwise), knowing that big hill was coming eventually. And when it did come 3/4 of the way through, I put on my low gear and took small steps, but never stopped- passed a lot of other girls though! I felt good, and caught up with Ben and Turi who had gotten ahead of me (their low gear is much faster than mine :) on the downhill. I love me some downhill! The rest of the race was a breeze! I finished with a time of 29:29 in 41st place I think, with Turi just a step behind (and they messed up his time because they had him down for 29:37, with someone in between us!). I felt so good I didn't want to stop running, and so talked Ben and Andy into jogging another 5 minutes (Turi had lots of errands and so jetted home right after the finish), but then they left too and I ended up running the loop and the hill (still backwards) two more times. I didn't do the full 5k, but did the shorter loop instead. Total, I'd say I ran about 6 miles and one full hour. Not a bad workout! We forgot to take a group picture, so I took a mediocre self-photo when I finished my run(s). Feeling good! :)