cotton row 5k 2012

With all the CHA stuff going on, I'd developed quite the backlog of photos that I needed to edit and print. I finally took the time last weekend to just sit down and work through them all. The editing is done, many of them are now waiting to be printed, and it's time for me to get them blogged here before I forget the stories that go with them. I often refer back to these blog posts to fill in gaps in my memory when I finally get around to scrapping these pictures...which is sometimes months or even years after they're taken!

Actually, my backlog is relatively small since it only starts on Memorial Day, but, geeez!, a lot has happened in the 6-7 weeks since then! At this rate I'll be blogging Fourth of July fireworks photos in August...

Anyway, back to Memorial Day, when I ran the Cotton Row 5K. This is one of my two favorite races to run every year (the other being the Independence 5K in my hometown- one of the other events that's waiting in my photo backlog).

Darren was in Kenya when I ran this race, so I thought I was going to be down a photographer for the event. I always run with my iPhone strapped to my arm, though (I'm kinda OCD about checking my pace), so I pulled it off to snap a few photos of the festivities beforehand. A friend had told me earlier in the week that he was going to try to come by to take photos for me, but wasn't sure he could make it. I thought that this way I'd at least have a couple of shots to remember the race by just in case he wasn't able to come.

Yes, we runners know how to party. :) Standing in the middle of the street in a massive crown on a hot (and rapidly growing hotter) day.

Oh, but guess what? My friend did show up, and even through he wasn't able to find me at the start line (he did catch me at the finish), he still got some great photos of the general event!

So, this glob of runners is at the front...

And this bunch of walkers is at the back. I was somewhere toward the middle of the front, if that makes sense.

It's always really interesting for me to see photos of what was going on back at the start/finish while I was off running. In this case I was treated to some amazing patriotic images, including a Boy Scout color guard.

Joe said he almost missed me coming back at the end because I was so early. I was expecting to finish around 27:00, but I blew by him (waiting just before the finish line) just after the 26 minute mark to finish at a time of 26:23- a personal best!

I'm not sure what this look is here- maybe please don't let me die before I finish this race? Which is what goes through my mind at some point during every run...though I've yet to actually die during one. I'll be sure to let you guys know if that ever actually happens.

Hauling it in toward the finish line...

And here I am all elated and stuff because, even though I didn't have my exact time, I knew I'd just run at least 30 seconds faster than my previous best (it ended up being 40 seconds).

Also, I was really happy to have that bottle of water they handed me at the finish. It was a hot day! Have I mentioned that already?

And this photo has nothing to do with the race, but I was out later that afternoon getting groceries and saw that the sign- the real and actual sign and not just a tarp- was up at Chipotle! I've already blogged about the actual opening of the restaurant, so it may seem a little anticlimactic now, but at the time it was just about the best thing ever!