2009 Nelson's Island 5K

Thunderstorms were still rolling through as late as 6:30 AM, and I saw a few lightning flashes on my drive to the Mid-America Sports Complex. However, things had died down, and by race start, it was merely fairly breezy and very, very wet from a weekend of heavy rains.

When he said "line-up," I must have thought he meant for the hokey-pokey, cuz I put my left foot in....Alright, a little less dorky, ready to press a button, but not clear if I am actually ready to run!
I like this blurry picture, as it captures the essensce of the early part of a 5K. I actually look fast! And, I am really in the lead. For a short while.
That's me... front of the pack in the white singlet:
And here I am, bringing it into the finishing chute. Weary and lonely, but such is the life!

And here's my final pass right before the chute:
This course was advertised as "flat and fast." Not only was there a "you've gotta me kidding me" overpass at the first half mile to climb up for 100', but I had to do it again on the back side. With four hairpin turns, there was nothing flat or fast about this course. I splashed through several puddles that went over my ankles, and my shoes and socks were full of water! It was, however, still a lot of fun!

My time was a bit slow... but such were the conditions. However, I did land a win with first overall female and third overall. They gave me the purple lei and the way cool tropical palm tree with the monkey as a prize :-)