Stars and Stripes 5-K

One the things I was really looking forward to this summer, other than seeing family (obviously), was the Stars and Stripes 5-K I had signed up for. I realized running a 5-K isn't much for many people but I just recently started running and was looking forward to the challenge of figuring out it I could actually do it. The day before the race I went to pick up my bib number and took my sister along. She thought it sounded fun and decided to sign up and run it with me!

I'd done most of my training in Turkey and was hoping that once I got to a lower altitude it would be easier to run. Sadly the humidity and heat outweighed any advantages the lower altitude was giving me. Running in the South feels like drowning and dying of thirst at the same time.

Over all I'm pleased with how it went. Before the race my two goals were to finish (without dying) and to not be the last one across the finish line. Thankfully I completed both goals and was still alive after the race. My sister biked over to cheer us on and hang out at the finish line as I drank my weight in Gatorade and water. After the race I got a serge of energy (possibly due to the unhealthy amount of Gatorade consumed) and was ready to sign up for the next race. Roomie's been talking about going back to run the Istanbul Marathon in the fall and I think I may go with her and run the Fun Run!

Too bad I cant ship these two over the fun that one with me too!