Sweat, Sun, and Fun

It's 5:30 on a Saturday morning (a day off from school) and my alarm goes off! What on earth am I thinking? :o)

I'm thinking, today looks like a great day to go for a 5K run!!! :o) *begins day with morning stretches*

It was a gorgeous drive to the race...sun peeking over the trees...fog over little bodies of water...and barely any cars on the road.

It was a nice quiet drive until...I took the wrong exit....GRRRRR!

I had about 20 minutes left to make it to packet pick-up...NOT how I wanted to start the race!

After my personal GPS (my boyfriend) guided me back on the right path and having to put up with my frustrations, I finally made it!! (that's why I love my honey-bunches-of-oats so much, he's always there for me even when he's not here...thank you for putting up with your crazy lil monkey buns!!!)

So, how does ORC (Orlando Runners Club) compare to CARA (Chicago Area Runners Association)....hmmm...definitely not as organized.

When I got to the race, there was no distinct starting line...so I wasn't sure if I was parked close or 6 miles away from the start. Thank goodness for getting lost because I actually ended up parking A LOT closer to the starting line than most people.

I picked up my race packet and found only 3 safety pins instead of the usual four. That's okay, because I just asked for one more.

The sun was rising at a rapid pace and you could feel the heat warming up your back. I stood at the starting line wondering why this race wasn't set at an earlier start time. I guess it's Florida, so this is normal. *laughs*

Halfway through the race, I stopped at a water station just to pick up an extremely warm cup of water! *bleck* Oh well, warm water is better than no water, right?

At the finish line, I was told to go back a little because I couldn't pass up the guy in front of me because we had to grab an index card (in the order we finish) to put our name, gender, and age so they could post it (manually). *looks confused*

At one point in the race, I thought for sure I was going to melt into the ground and be mistaken for a water station. *continues to sizzle*

Although there seemed to be many negatives to this race, did I let it get me down? Of course not! I still had fun and rejoiced in my accomplishments. I FINISHED!!! (I think it was under 33 minutes...not quite sure) *does a victory dance*
I was excited to get my hands on post-race food. What does Florida have to offer?

ORANGES OF COURSE!!!

BUT WAIT...THERE'S MORE!! A post-race pizza party was going to be held at Mellow Mushroom...but not for another 2 hours. Boo! So what does Savitre do?...she makes new friends!

Jon, Veena, Jason, Star, and Moi :o)

I met a fun group of friends aka The Headless Lizards. They are hilarious and were fun to past time by with. I am now an official groupie of their band! *giggles*

Before we headed out to Mellow Mushroom, they were doing raffle drawing based on our bib numbers. I was not lucky enough to have my number drawn. However, Jon was....TWICE to be exact. The first time he won a really nifty shoe bag and the second...the really chic bright green shirt that yours truly is modeling for you.

After an hour of sitting around at Mellow Mushroom... breakfast was served!! (sorry, I don't have any pics of the pizzas because all the hungry runners were devouring it up like vultures).

All in all, I had a fun day!!! Am I looking forward to my next sweltering 5K race? Definitely!!!...because next time my pookie bear will be running along side me on the 4th of July!!!
Woo Hoo!!! :o)