Rudolph Red Nose 5k 2003

In October of 03, I went to zip my pants up and couldn't. They were a size 10!!! This is when I decided it was time to lace up the shoes again and hit the road running. I ran all my life, but after having 2 kids, I guess the weight just snuck up on me since I had not had alot of time to run or anything. I signed up for the Country Music Marathon in October, and then decided to do this race with some girls I had met at the training runs. This was my first 5k since the Carlsbad 5000 in California in 1993. I was in the Navy then. (I did it in 27:15).

The Rudolph is a race that is held the first weekend of Dec...right before the parade. This one was during the day, and it was COLD!! It was sleeting a little and spitting snow, then rain. Just gross. And I really struggled through it. There were 5 of us who ran it together, and I came in 2nd out of the 5. I was so proud of my 33:03 time! The other girls did it in 37 minutes so I felt like a stud. It really was fun and I guess I re-caught my racing bug here. The crowd was great. They lined the street of Downtown Nashville along the parade/race course, so it really kept me going. The bad part is the hills. There's a hill out of the Coliseum..right at the start. I had not done any hill training yet so this really killed me. I walked right at the beginning. Then down the hill at 2nd ave. Then we turned on to Broadway and turned around there, then BACK UP the hill on 2nd. (walked again) then down the hill at the bridge and all the way around the Coliseum, then the finish line. It was SOOO hard, but I was happy with my time all things considered. At least I had a starting point for future 5k's (My favorite racing distance.)