Hon 5k

Jim & I raced last weekend in Muscatine. It was terribly humid outside, even at 8 a.m. in the morning. I don't know actual numbers, but there was a nice crowd. The race route was fairly flat and went right along the banks of the mighty Mississippi. This race was rescheduled because in May (the original race date) the Mississippi was past flood stage and you see that picture below....well, that was completely underwater a month ago. The t-shirts we got have the May date printed on it even though we raced in June.

This was primarily a participation race. They only recognized the overall male & female finishers, as well as, the overall male & female employess from Hon. Beyond that everyone was just given a finishing medal. There was no breaking down of age groups & 1st, 2nd, 3rd place, etc. Although, for me my only goal was to beat Jim. If you know us well you know how competitive we both are. He has to do his usual talk about beating me, but he has yet to do that. We all have our strengths & weaknesses though. If this were a short sprinting race Jim would beat me hands down. He's got some explosive speed. Anyway, I won't compair our times.

For me personally I was about 2 - 3 minutes slower than I'd like to be. Giving birth to a 6th child and 20 extra pounds kinda slows me down. But I know it takes time to slowly build myself up to my top speed (and loose that weight). And it can all be about perspective as well. After I finished I had some girl (highschool aged, I guess) walk up to me and say "you're really fast". I had to look behind me to see if she was talking to someone else. I graciously thanked her & took the compliment.

We don't have any races on the calander until August. But sometimes I hear of one and go do it spur of the moment. With 6 kids I never truly count on racing. I almost never pre-register, cause who knows what will come up that will keep me from racing. My family comes first no matter what. Jim is being a trooper and coming along with me. It nice couple time for us. Maybe some day he'll beat me....ya know, when I've broken my leg & must compete on crutches. (Oh my I just laughed so hard my side hurts) ; )