ABB 5K Race Report

My very long over due race report... Part one. 

 

As always I have a hard time writing a race report when I have such mixed emotions about the out come of the race it self. So be it that I will be taking time to give credit where credit is due and praise where praise is due I have to be honest with you and with myself. 

 

The day before the Aramco half marathon, we all participated in the ABB 5K.  I was so glad that we all did it this year, we all got that wonderful satisfaction of bringing triple medals home at the end of the weekend and it gave us all a chance to warm up our race legs and as it turned out it gave us a boost of good vibes. 

 

Lety had (still is) been fighting an upper respiratory bug, that had her coughing up a storm and feeling very unsure of what was to happen with her very first ever 1/2 marathon- she ran the 5k just fine and just like it did for me last year, it gave her a better idea of what she should wear and how she would do the next day. Over all she left feeling much more confidant about the race the next day having tested out her lungs in the cold weather :)

 

Guada also felt like poop the days leading up to the race and actually switched from doing the full marathon to doing the half marathon because she felt so funky. I fought up to Guada in the last mile and could tell she was struggling, I stuck it out with her to the end and she made it but we all went home worried that day and lots of prayers were said for her in hopes that she would make it the next day.

 

Alma was our go go speed racer of course, about a mile into her race she thought she wasn't going fast enough until she found out she was booking a 7 something mile per minute!!! Needless to say she was happy with her run and was all smiles when the rest of us crossed the finish! 

 

Cindy Luu as normal knocked out her race easy peasy, I know ultimately her worries were not in the 5K but the the race that was to come. Cindy is my quiet one, although she was excited to cross the finish to "Gangnam Style" - LOL!

 

Clarissa was my favorite by far, she ran the fastest 5K yet! She was beaming when I finally caught up to her :) my bestie has come quite a long way since she started her journey and there is always that moment when your body shocks you and your given this awesome realization that you are capable of great things. 

Cindy Luu is missing form our picture!

My run was good, like I said before I was glad that all of us were together for this run. Last year Alma and I ran it and we were missing Cindy Luu. Unbeknownst to us Guada also ran it but we didn't know her very well at that time and she was there running solo. This time there was power in numbers and I said to her prior to starting "you won't run by your self again!" I meant this in so many ways, I mean I can't run every run with her, she is the crazy runner out of our group putting in a half marathon in every weekend leading up to this weekend since November!! But better yet she has us on her side now and hopefully we can join her more often and also we are here cheering her on and if she knows it or not she is now one of my Running in Faith girls! 

 

For the first time I didn't give this 5K too much thought, I got lost from the pack because I wanted to get rid of my hoodie and I moved away from everyone looking for Max (babysitter/cheerleader) so I could toss it over to him. By the time I got into the race I had lost the girls, for a moment I thought I found  Cindy Luu and right before I hugged a stranger I realized those were not Cindy's shoes!! So by mile 2 I was cruising along solo and then I spotted Guada, at first I thought if I try to catch up to her, I would burn myself out! I may have tried that once before, maybe ;) So I kept going at a good pace when suddenly I realized not only was I closer to Guada but she had started walking too. I knew then by the look on her face that she was in pain :( so I came up next to her and said "see you're not alone!" So we ran a while together and I could tell she was struggling because she would pick up her pace and slow down, pick up and slow down. I asked her if she wanted to walk, she said yes. When we slowed to a walk she said she didn't want to slow me down because she knew I like to keep up with my time, and I told her sometimes it's not about time... And it wasn't. She is one of the coolest people and she runs because she can she doesn't give it too much thought and she has such a great outlook on everything. She is right about me though, while Guada is as cool as a cucumber - I am normally having a mini panic attack about something running related. She realized we were close to the end and wanted to run again so we did and a little bit of "Gangnam Style" and I think the beginning of "Happy" and the whole thing was over. 

 

A group of girls that had just been out for a run :)

 

That night we went to church and thankfully Pastor Tim prayed for us and all the runners that would be heading out the next day. Lety and I went on a mission to have spaghetti for dinner and we all promised each other to go to bed early and get some rest...