See that teeming crush of humanity? That was the starting line.
I was here (look for the bright green arrow). I'm pretty sure that at that moment I was telling myself the same thing I tell myself at the beginning of any 5K- "you will not die of boredom, you will not die of boredom..."
Darren was very sweet and took photos for me...we'll call this one my "determined" look. Because that sounds so much better than the "I'm seriously sucking wind, here" look.
And this is me with the finish line in my sights. My old software lead from SAIC (hi, Joe!) was watching (his daughter was also running), and when I ran past him with about a tenth of a mile to go he looked at the clock, and then I looked at the clock, and then he started yelling something about 29 minutes, and I started sprinting.
Based on my start (it was really hard to find a pace with that many people starting at the same time) I didn't think I had a chance of getting anywhere close to that time. But, hey, there's my bouncing pony tail crossing the finish line!
Later in the afternoon I did something else I've never done before...I spent a little time at the spa here. :)
So, I had a great end to my staycation...and tomorrow is back to work and coding. Want to know a secret? I actually miss work just a little...