2011 Armadillo Dash 5K Recap!

Jeff ran his first 5K yesterday! I will admit, it was bittersweet to watch everyone run, but there was no way I could have done even the 5K, much less the half, considering I got home from the airport at 1:30 am, and of course had to spend time with Paco, open the mail, try to get things ready for the early morning...ended up falling asleep around 2:30 am. The alarm went off at 5:00 am and we were off! Well, after taking care of a few important details - can you believe Jeff didn't have his bib number pinned on his shirt? Or his timing tag attached to his shoe?? Have I taught him NOTHING about race preparations??? LOL - he was a little too relaxed about this whole thing, if you ask me. OK, here's the fun part - pictures!

My running club half homie, Julia, and Jeff (note the lack of technical gear on him - and we won't even talk about the non-matching sweatshirt and vest combo!) (please note, Julia is resplendent in her coordinating shades of purple - that's my girl!)

After the national anthem, a prayer, and a moment of silence for this day being the 175th anniversary of the fall of the Alamo (gotta love Texas!), the race finally began.

Aaannnddd they're off! Nice thing about being tall is that he's easy to spot in the crowd.

I had to include this picture - just so you know, it wasn't THAT cold. Still, you have to admire this woman's determination to get out and race in what was to her, a very chilly morning. Oh, and just for comparison? This is what the 5K winner wore:

Side note: I told Jeff this guy would be the winner before the race, when I noticed that his tank top read "Oregon" on it - having just been there, I can attest to the fact that there are a mega-ton of runners, so I figured he would be fast...and he was. This guy ran 3.1 miles in 16:37 - that is a 5:20 pace. Honestly? I would be happy with a race pace double that!

This shot cracks me up because John (a trainer from where I used to work out at) is looking at his watch like he can't believe the time that the first place finisher just got - too funny!

Anyway, back to the race. Look who else I spotted?

Linda! My former trainer, and the person who got me to run my first mile! It was great to see her again.

OK, so I'm waiting for Jeff to round the corner and head toward the finish. I see Julia, and just behind her is Jeff - coach Joni (who had finished her 5K like it was a walk in the park) and I were cheering both of them on:

I posted this picture on Facebook yesterday and Julia commented "I was running away from the man behind me!" - so funny, she is!

Then Jeff caught up with Julia...who will cross the finish line first?

It's a tie! Gun time: 37:03, chip time: 36:02. Nice thing about your running your first 5K? You set a new PR (personal record)!

Sweaty and ready for pancakes:

Congratulations, Jeff - you are a runner now!