Race for the Cure

Race time again! This time was a bit different - we had been planning this race since the summer, it was out of town in Brentwood, TN, and it would be the most populated race we had been a part of. The Susan Komen Race for the Cure 5k was October 27th, and Karalee, Amy and I were ready for a girls' night and some racing fun.

 

Friday night, Karalee and I picked up Amy, ate some Panera in BG, picked up our race packet and shirt for the Monster Dash, and then headed to Brentwood. After we got there, we attempted to drive the course, but with the rain, darkness and, I guess, lack of skill, we had a hard time following the map. Oh, well, we figured we'd be fine the next morning.

 

 

Look! It's AOII Headquarters! Karalee, Amy and I are all AOIIs, and our chapter headquarters is on the route that we would be running. We stopped to check out the pink pandas and pink balloons they had used to encourage the runners. Truth be told, the pandas looked a bit depressed because they had been rained on, but we appreciated the effort! :)

 

After we got to our hotel, we laid out our shirts, bibs and all the pink that we planned to wear during the race. Karalee's bib is in the middle, pink, because she is a survivor. We chose not to pay the extra money for a timed chip, so our numbers were all the same - 2012.

 

We popped some popcorn and watched old Friends episodes until we decided it was time for lights out. A perfect girls' night!

 

 

Up and at 'em! We wanted to have plenty of time before the race to check out the Village and get plenty of "swag" and freebies. There was also a special place for survivors that we wanted to check out, too. I can describe the morning in two words: PINK and COLD.

 

They were giving out all things pink - including balloon flower coursages.

 

Here's Karalee signing the board - it was covered in signatures and special messages.

 

I had signed it right before her. See my name? I wrote "for Bubba" under my name -- and then Karalee wrote her nickname with her's. :)

 

Here's our "team." Bonita, a fun gal that works at Trax in BG, met up with us, and so did Mary John, a friend and survivor from BG. Bonita was the overall female winner finishing the race in a little over eighteen minutes. Wowzers!

 

We saw all sorts of fun things as we were walking around the Race Village.

 

What's Karalee so happy about? She's a survivor! (I think she was laughing at something actually.)

 

I know why Amy is so happy - she found herself a spot under a heater in the Survivor's area!

 

Love this girl! She was dancing and having a grand time waiting for the race to start!

 

Coffee - the perfect breakfast for any runner!

 

I had to take a picture of this guy and his wife. His shirt reads "Hunters for Hooters!"

 

Bonita was busy getting her picture made with the most extreme, pink racers, too.

 

This is the finish line. The pink arch is for the survivors to run under. They also had a pink carpet at the finish line, too, where they were handed pink carnations.

 

Everything was pink - even the bottled water waiting for us at the finish line.

 

 

After we had collected one of everything that was free, we took our loot back to the hotel, left our coats (brrr...) and headed for the start line. The race wasn't too bad, except for the cold wind. Karalee and I had stuck together for the entire race, and right at the last stretch, the wind really picked up. We finished together in 29:34, a PR for me. Amy right behind us, struggling with her knee most of the way. It was a great race, and I loved the atmosphere. There were so many runners and walkers! I think it was over 20,000!

 

After the race, we changed into warmer clothes, took a few more pictures, enjoyed some lunch and then headed home to Bowling Green. It was only six and a half hours until our next 5k...