iRun-4-Mom: Your registration would be paid. Want to run it?

So, yesterday I get a text from my hair dresser. It says:

"There is a 5K run tomorrow on the Air Force Academy.

Your registration would be paid. Want to run it?"

I thought this sounds like fun, to run at the US Air Force Academy, that is a one in a life time opportunity. Also, the idea of my entry fee being paid sounds great. Then I thought, what's the catch?

After talking to my hair dresser, and asking some questions, it turned out another client of her's has a business called Pikes Peak Respite Services they provide individualized respite care for your loved one with special needs as well as typical siblings. Our services include family advocacy for IEP meetings and family preservation planning. I would be running for them on a team and I would need to wear a shirt. Basically it is a marketing event for them.

I was so honored to be asked.

I showed up at Beverly's house and met the team, we proceeded to pick up a client and then off to the AFA stadium. We got a little turned around while there. The US AFA covers 18,000 acres, so it is very easy to get lost there! We found our way after a few u-turns. We checked in and found out tent, set up and I started to stretch out. There were quite a few kids there with disabilities and chair bound. It was nice to see young cadets there that offered to push kids through the race.

The race started fast! It was down hill for the first mile then up hill for mile two. I don't train much on hills and the mental block that comes with them is hard for me to get over, I try to tel myself, if I just push this out to the top, then it's all down hill. Sometimes when your breathing gets labored and you feel like you legs weight 10lbs each makes it hard to pick them up and keep going. Also, the US AFA happens to sit at 6,800 feet above sea level, which is almost 800, feet higher than I am used to running at. At the turn around it was all down, hill so anytime that I added on the upswing, I got back on the down hill. On the down hill, the AFA bike escorts were circling back up the hill and they kept saying "good job keep it up" this really helped me out.

I started to pick off runners one by one, all those people that passed my on the up swing. Passing other runners just helps you push your legs out from under you and give you that extra push to go just a hair faster with each step. As I was rounding the final right turnI could see mile marker three and the finish line, it was uphill again, I kicked it into gear with all I had left, it was cool to have the crowd cheer you on, it makes me push harder. I had a strong finish and was overall happy with my time.

I stood at the finish line and waited for my other team members to make their way in. I got the opportunity to watch a few cadet push kids through the finish line. Just watching the kids faces light up was moving. The crowd would cheer really loud and the kids would raise their hands from their chair in victory, laughing and smiling.

Here are my splits: