Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Teal Ribbon 5K Recap!

On Saturday, Jeff, Julia and I ran the Teal Ribbon 5K for the second year in a row.  This race was held in a different location from the previous year, though - and while it's a familiar route, it's not really my favorite to run...it's the same route as the Turkey Trot, and there are just enough wavy hills in it to torture me.  There was another 5K race going on as well, so turnout for this one (and from what I heard, the other race) was not as good as last year.  It's too bad that these races overlapped, but that seems to be the case around here - just about everyone schedules their 5K fundraisers in April.

The race didn't start until 9:00 am, which would be great for a cold day in February, but not so great for a warm, muggy day in late April.  While I was getting ready, I heard our sprinklers go on.  And then a few minutes later, I thought to myself "wow, those sprinklers are really loud" - nope...turns out, it was pouring down rain!  We drove to the race and sat in the car, hoping that the standard line about Texas weather ("if you don't like the weather, wait five minutes and it will change") would come true.  Oh, and naturally, the one time I was wearing something decorative in my hair, it was raining.  I had Jeff take a picture of my homemade hair dealie - you can see the rain on the window of the car, too:
Teal ribbons for the Teal Ribbon 5K!

Sure enough, about 15 minutes later, the rain stopped, the sun came out, and the steam started rising from the pavement - ahhh, 70 degrees plus humidity.  And running in the daylight (Julia says we are running vampires since we usually only run in the dark).  This was going to be an interesting race!

Runners are encouraged to wear teal for the race - Julia and I obviously shopped at the same store as we turned up in identical shirts!  Of course, she had her title to defend, since she won "Most Teal" last year, so she added some extras to her ensemble:
Teal Twins!

Jeff didn't have a teal shirt, so he went with the always-coordinating white:
But his water bottle was teal!  Just luck on that one, as I bought it last summer at TJ Maxx for dirt cheap.

The race began - I think there were about 60 runners.  Just about everyone ran like a bat out of hell at the beginning.  I tried to not get caught up in that craziness, but it wasn't easy, and naturally I ended up dealing with some anxiety breathing.  I wish I could get it through my head that this is my race to run MY way, but that concept still eludes me, even when, as I knew we would, we ended up passing a lot of the people who started so fast.  Blergh.  It was really warm and humid, and after the water station (around mile 1.5?) the sun was just burning on us...my face felt super hot and it was not a comfortable run from then on.  There's a reason why we run in the dark - it may be warm, but at least we don't have the sun to contend with!  I think I'll get pickier about which races I do in April, depending on their start times.

Anyway, we finished the race - the course was a little short, but we knew it would be based on where the start line was compared to where it is for the Turkey Trot.  Not a big deal, as we were ready to be done.
After - my face was so red!  Not sunburned, but overheated.

There were two people in contention for "Most Teal" this year - Julia, and a woman named Jessica.  The organizers called both of them up and had the audience decide...I wondered if Jessica might win, because her tattoos had teal in them.  There were both wearing the same socks (Target!), but Julia really was wearing more teal. 

Here's the cheer-off:
And here's the winner:
Two years in a row!!  Go Julia!!!
She won a gift card to Texas Roadhouse - and also got photobombed!

Afterward, we all went to Blue Baker, where it apparently was Give Food To Shelley day.  We were there much later than normal, and while I was waiting to place my order, I saw that there was only one cinnamon twist left in the case.  There was an older couple in front of me...and sure enough, they ordered it.  I jokingly yelled out NOOOOOOOO, and they laughed and offered to let me have it.  I thanked them but declined - said I'd survive.  I was paying for our food when the lady walked up to me, reached into her bag and gave me half of the cinnamon twist - she said she wanted me to have it.  How nice!  Then, when I brought all the food to the table, I saw Will there with bacon on his plate, and I said "I forgot to order the bacon!"  He instantly handed me a piece.  At this point I was thinking that maybe I could just go from table to table and see what else people would give me as I must have looked especially hungry!  I split the bacon with Jeff, and then he decided that we all needed more, so he went and bought another order (which we split with Will).  A cinnamon roll also made an appearance...needless to say, we weren't hungry again until dinnertime, and even then, we weren't starving!
Carb-city, and oh so good!

24 comments:

  1. No heat here yet. We have a lot of races at the same time too. Hard to choose. Love those carbs!

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  2. How sweet of that lady.

    This race doesn't sound as too much fun as your other races this year were, to be honest. I think 60 runners is few too. You look great though.

    The weather is pretty okay over here but still to cold for this time of year. But at least it's dry and the sun is shining.

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    1. Truth be told, it wasn't, but they can't all be winners, I guess.

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    2. True, if you don't sign up, you never know if it's going to be a fun one.

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  3. oooh MY TATTOOS have teal TUTU!

    Id so so so win :-)

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  4. Aww, so nice of that lady to share!

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  5. Your hair looks so pretty, Shelley! You should've gotten some kind of prize for "Good Hair Day" in the humidity and pouring rain.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks - if I ever put on a race, that will be one of the awards! ;)

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  6. I love your hair - so fun! Did I tell you that Tony and I are going to Austin at the end of this month??!! Cannot wait! I miss my brother and his family and we'll see my step-son and his wife. #winwin

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  7. I love all the teal and the spirit you have when you run!!! You truly are a running inspiration! Have a great Wednesday Shelley

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  8. Hmmm... shared food from a stranger. Not sure I could to that one LOL - unless it was a cupcake with a lot of frosting.

    When I did races, I would always start too fast and my breathing would be ragged. It's very hard to start with a bunch of people and slowly (or not so) be left behind, then feeling the need to catch up.

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    Replies
    1. Oh, you'd share the cinnamon twist, I guarantee it!

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  9. Well that was nice of the lady! lol. And your hair looks adorable!!

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  10. HA!!! You talk about heat and humidity and Im still getting snow!!!

    I love that teal shirt. I cant tell, but the logo looks like adidas... Is that right? I want one!!!
    Free food is always a win!!!

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  11. Oh mylanta, your hair color(s) is gorg! Is that your natural color, or some highlights?
    (Am I allowed to ask that, or is that rude...?) Whatever the case may be, love your
    hair color.

    Chrissy

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    Replies
    1. Highlights now...it was my natural color when I was younger, but my hair turned darker in my late twenties...I think of this as turning back the clock, lol!

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    2. And thank you for the compliment! :)

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  12. I like that teal shirt!

    Congrats to your friend, she did deserve to win:)

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  13. I love reading about your races :)

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  14. I thought I'd try to leave a message again today!

    What I said was that your hair looked especially pretty, and that your carby breakfast made me extra hungry yesterday morning!

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    Replies
    1. Glad Blogger decided to accept your comment today...and thank you for such a nice one! :)

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  15. Catching up on posts day! :) Heehee, I love teal so it was awfully fun to see all the varieties of it in your outfits and photos.

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