Run for the Helmut 7K Cottleville, MO

So Saturday was race day and I did it!  Wahoo!  I only had two goals for the race ...

1.  Run, no walking allowed.  Check and check.

2.  Finish in 45 minutes or less.  Drum roll, please ..... official time 43:53. 

I was pretty proud of myself.  Wade brought the kids down, so they got to see my cross the finish line.  And then they got smoothies.  Pretty sure they were more excited about the smoothies.  Keira kept asking me why I didn't win?  The concept of doing something and not winning is still lost on her.

Overall, it was a good experience.  Here is what I learned: 

• It is going to be crowded, figure out a way to deal with it. I don't like crowds, at all.  Slightly claustrophobic here.  So before the race started, I just kept wandering around finding pockets of air.  Once the race started, it was a bit more difficult, but still do-able to find your space.
• It is really hard to pace yourself when you are running in a crowd like that.  Which is why I love the Map My Run app for the iPhone.  Love it, love it, love it.  It pops on every 5 minutes and says, the time, the distance and your pace.  This really help me.  I stated a bit to fast, just trying to keep up with some and get out of the way of others and this really helped me know if I needed to speed up or slow down.
• Jogging strollers should NOT be allowed.  Enough said.
• You will get a great sense of accomplishment by crossing the finish line.
• Beer, after a hot and sticky 4.5 mile run does not sound good ... even when it's free!

Signing up for a 10k this week.  It is in late April.  More training until then .... still toying with the idea of doing a mini, I'll keep you posted.