My first running trophy!!!

We had an amazing day on Sunday because someone won a trophy!!!

I had signed up for the Birthday Bash 5K few weeks ago as part of my half marathon training plan.  I haven’t participated in a race for over 6 years so I was a bit nervous and excited. Tony and Sofia woke up early with me and we went out together.

To my surprise, there were over 500 people in this family run (1k and 100 m were available too)

I lined up at 9-10 min/mile pace and went off. I have warned up few minutes before the race because I find myself always struggling in the first mile or so.

Mile 1 started with a downhill so I picked up the pace and went fairy fast (8:45 min/mi). I felt good, I felt extremely good for such a fast pace but I told myself not to go faster because I could run off the stamina too early.

Mile 2: I still felt fine and confident, passing through runners all the way. I knew I was still going faster than my normal pace but I felt confident that I still have a lot of energy. My last 5k race time was over 28 minutes so I mentally calculated that if I kept up with that pace, I would PR. Woo!!! that sounds exciting! So I should keep up.

Mile 3: downhill and uphill. The course is really nice. Although it was sunny and hot, my hat protected me and I didn’t feel too heated. To distract myself, I counted how many runners I pass. 7 on mile 3! 😉 I got a bit tired with the fast pace so I slow down a bit to around 9 min/mi until 2.9 miles. Then I press the accelerator and gave all I had left until the finish line. I was looking for Sofia and Tony, and there there were, waiting for me! What a great feeling to have my loved ones waiting for me at the finish line!!!!

While I run, Sofia and Tony had fun at the photo booth.

Surprisingly, for such a small race there were many vendors. We got cupcake, ice creams, banana, sample juices, ice crush, popcorns and free cartoon.

we got a family portrait

we loved it!!!

My chip time was 26 min. I didn’t think too much of it but my friend told me that I placed 29th among female runners. Woo!!! That sounds great! But then when I went to take a picture of the final results, I saw that I placed 3rd on my age group! Woo! Even better! We were going to get a trophy!!! That’s INCREDIBLE!

Sofia went with me to take it

She was beyond excited too! She told me that she wanted to run! Oh… baby… run with mama next year!

when we came home, someone was up and waiting for us

to celebrate even more, we had a great BBQ (korean baby ribs, spicy sausage, chicken leg, asparagus, corn and salad).

What a wonderful Sunday! It was Sofia and Tony’s first time to see me running a race. Their presence made it so special. Just for the feeling of crossing the finish line knowing that they’re cheering and waiting for me, I’ll keep running and racing because that feeling is priceless!!! 😀