Finish Line 500 Festival 5k May 4

      Above is some of the cool stuff I either purchased at the expo or I received for running (I can not find my participant shirt sadly). I had a wonderful time at the expo, I tried all kinds of protein and energy products that I actually ended up enjoying and will purchase in the future. I also bought all kinds of goodies including Sweaty Bands, shirts, and a much needed cell phone arm band holder. 

      The night before the race we walked around Downtown Indianapolis, exploring shops and of course had to stop for some yummy frozen yogurt. I had to be at the start line earlier than the half marathoners so my lovely friends agreed to get up early with me and walk me to the start line. Dawn even let me borrow a pair of Pro-compression socks which not were not just awesome but also my favorite color. I was really nervous to be running in such a big race even though I was only running a 5k. I guess the thought of being around so many people who were such fast runners intimidated me. 

Me, Sarah, and Dawn at the 5k corral

         After they headed to their own corrals I stood in my corral trying to pump myself up and carefully stretch without kicking anyone (it was a little crowded in the corral). Finally we were off and I was really hoping to beat my previous time. Getting started in this race was horrible, you heard me HORRIBLE. So many of the participants were walkers so I tried to bob and weave between them but at times i felt i was moving horizontally instead of forward. I ended up following other runners lead and going off the road to go around the walker maze that had been created. When I finished Mile 1 i was shocked to see the clock time was already at 13 minutes. How was I going to beat my previous time with Mile 1 being the slowest mile I had ever run in a 5k? The next two miles were much better, I was past the walkers and tried to speed up. The course took us past the Indianapolis Zoo which was cool. One day I will have to actually go inside. 

Crossing the finish line

          Unfortunately I did not beat my previous time and I will admit I allowed myself to get grumpy about it. I also did not get to enjoy the post race festivities because I had to go straight to work. While all and all it was not personally a great race experience it was really nice to see so many runners who were perfect strangers encouraging each other. Maybe next year I will be doing the half marathon...