Lime Foxtrot 5K 4/27/2013

Hello everyone,

So today was our Lima Foxtrot 5K and I can honestly say that I simply did not want to race today. I set my alarm for 5:00am got up at 5:30am managed to finally get my mind on point and get ready for the race. I was dreading this race all morning. If we hadn't already paid for it I probably would have simply stayed in bed and slept in.

We left the house around 6:20 and headed that way. It took us about 40 minutes to get where we were going and to my surprise there seemed to be more people show up than what I expected. This was a first annual race and the turnout was around 175-200 runners.

We arrived at the Gardendale Civic Center around 7:05am. Our friends who have been doing the C25K met us there as well as my parents. I was really glad they all came, I really enjoy knowing that we have friends and family that are willing to show up and support us. Its funny though because my buddy really wanted to run it today, he is so pumped up about our upcoming race next month.

We walked over and finally got our packets picked up around 7:25am and realized we got tech shirts in our packets. That's the first time we have got something else other than the standard cotton shirt.

Here are a few pics that was taken before the race started up, enjoy!

Little Miss Cutie Pie!!!

The two in the picture here are my best friend and his wife. They have really been bitten by the running bug and we are all looking forward to their debut race next month!!

Pic of my Dad and me, can you see the family resemblance?

Ella Kate loves her Uncle Bob and Aunt Mel!

This dog's name is Walker. He has ran over 50 races with his owner who also happens to be the race director for this race. Very cool dog and a really really nice guy that put this all together.

Like momma like daughter

This one is for Scotty! 

8:00 AM and its go time!!! By this point I have finally come around to being in  a better mood and am actually looking forward to this run. There was some really cool people out here and everyone just seemed to be in good spirit. I'm itching to start and really hoping to set a new PR but before I get into the details of a mile by mile synopsis here are a few more pics of the line up.

Ok! So we are off, Mile 1 went great, in fact it was my fastest mile to date. Clocked in at 7:50, I was feeling strong at this point. I had passed a lot of people already that started in front of me and I kept pushing. I can honestly say that I think my progress has a lot to do with implementing cross training into my regime. My body just feels stronger and more capable.

I keep pushing, but find myself starting to slow down. I didn't think I could keep a sub 8min pace the entire race especially considering the whole race seemed to be rolling hills. I was coming up on mile 2 and noticed my pace had slowed, I knew it was still faster than my pace from the Rumpshaker 5K so I was still shooting to beat my previous PR. Mile 2 - 8:23

I'm getting tired at this point. My pace keeps jumping between sub 8 and a little over 9, I just play yo-yo pretty much the entire last mile trying to push myself as much as possible. The heat has went up drastically and the humidity was sucking the life out of me. I finally see the finish line and try my best to pick up my pace. I cross the finish line (only a 3 mile course) with mile 3 sitting at 8:46. Now if you can do that math that's 25:00 minutes even. If this course had been a true 3.1 miles I still would have ran a sub 26min 5K. I beyond excited about this time, even at 3.1 miles I still would have broke my PR but at least a minute!!! That's a pretty big deal considering it hasn't been that long since I ran the Rumpshaker.

Here are some finish line pics!

And of my wife coming up on the finish line

Now a few things I need to explain about this race is the cause. This race was supporting the Lima Foxtrot foundation which is for severely injured military personnel. Which means there was several participants who were either doing the race in wheelchairs or who were running with prosthetic leg/foot. In fact I got beat by a 14 year old in a wheelchair! This kid was amazing and such a strong willed kid!

Just hanging out after the race was over.

Now on to the most exciting part of the day, my daughter! We didn't sign her up, or dress her to do a fun run but the very cool race director asked if she wanted to run it and she said yes. It was like a 10 dollar run but he let her run it for free, she was so excited and didn't want anyone running it with her! So without further ado here are the cutest freaking pictures in my whole RR!!!

Very cool lady running with the kids in the back, she was such a sweet lady!

Coming in for the finish

And of course EK with her cool runner's medal 

This was such a great race and it turned out to be such a beautiful day considering there was suppose to be rain. I will definitely run this again next year if they continue to do this race. Now for one more picture, this is of course me but I am standing with one of the guys who ran this 5K. I am sure you have heard of him and if you haven't he has his own web page. His name is Noah Galloway and you can find his webiste at www.Naohgalloway.com. He lost his arm and leg on Dec 19, 2005 in Iraq from an IED. This man is a machine and a true inspiration.

Also notice the shirt he is wearing. That was the tech shirt that we received in our race packet