I decided to enter the 5k. Firstly it was cheaper, secondly, I hadn't ran a timed 5k before. Only a 10k in which I got 37mins in Bristol, UK. I looked at last years results and the winner finished in 24mins, all the more reason! I'd never won a race before due to British racing being highly competitive. I was slightly out of shape and thought this would be a good confidence boost!
Aleta decided to go for the 10k! She didn't want to do the 5k because I was running it! It was only $5 more for twice the distance so pretty worth it! She had already ran a full and half, so why not carry on in reverse!
The course was REALLY hilly, we didn't realise this until we arrived... We made some ramen and beef jerky the night before to get the carbs and protein in. We'd also been drinking a lot the day before too. We slept for 3-4hours but woke up at 2am! We set the alarm to wake at 5am but no joy getting back to sleep! lol. We left just before 6am as our race started at 7:45am (5k and 10k) together. After a sleepy start, we drove 55miles to the Valley of Fire! The national park looked really cool, pretty much a huge valley with lots of mountains! It was $8 entry for locals otherwise $10.
I decided to leave everything in the car and collect my phone for pictures afterwards. Aleta took hers with her. After some warm ups, we waited at the start line. After a quick kiss, we were off! I knew I was running the shortest distance, so the pace was easy, just STAY AHEAD! I flew off the start line and drove up the first huge hill! It was pretty much straight away! A good 800metres I think. When I or to the top ahead of the pack, I looked round and nobody was in sight! WTF!?! I used to do a lot of hill running, but I thought I'd have company. I haven't lead a race for longer than a couple minutes so it was a weird feeling!
It was smooth sailing until the halfway point when I saw the sign to turnaround. I was looking for the timing strips but didn't see any, I asked the guy weather 5k carried on, and he said yes. Turns out he was WRONG!!! Kinda wasted 20secs and energy. Anyway started heading back, and last hill was a bit of a beast but not too bad. I got to the top and sailed down it for a sprint finish! I WON!!
Almost a good couple of minutes ahead of 2nd place! I got my medals and some snacks, then ran back to the car to get my camera!
I snapped a few pics and vids and recorded Aleta finishing her 10k! I collected my award, it was a golden cowbell! pretty novell and cool! i almost got aleta and I free technical t-shirts because i won! awesome!! Aleta did really well, especially for the hilly course!! Her route was the same as mine but the turnaround was much later. We got a some pics with our medals and decided as we spent on entry we'd explore a bit! We met a guy from Sheffield, UK! He came 2nd in the half.
Finishers Medal
1st Place 5k Cowbell
We climbed up the rocks and took some more pics. The park looked really nice!! After a while, we decided to had back home. We visited a couple of yard sales and got a buffet from Sunset Casino to replenish the store! Awesome day!!
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