This past Sunday was the LA Cancer Challenge 5K. It was 5K #6 for me this year.
This was one of the random 5Ks I signed up for so I could do as many 5Ks as I could this year. I didn’t pick it for any particular reason. This one happened to benefit pancreatic cancer research.
On Saturday after my half shift at work, I headed over to Westwood to the VA (where the 5K was held) so I could pick up my number and t-shirt. I got a bit of a preview of where I’d be walking, and I realized that it was pretty hilly. After doing a little investigating of what I thought the course would be, I parked my car, went to the tents, and got my number.
On Saturday night, as I wrote yesterday, I stayed home so I could get a good night sleep before the 5K.
On Sunday morning, I took a pain pill before leaving the house. I wanted to try to prevent as much pain from the hills as I could (it worked pretty well). I drove back to Westwood only to see that it was insanely foggy!
That picture was taken during one of the clearer moments before the 5K started.
While I waited for the start, I took a before picture.
You can see the fog getting worse! While waiting, my hair got very damp from all the mist. But if I had to choose from it being too cold or too hot during a 5K, I’d choose too cold any day (I just wish I remembered to bring my sweatshirt that day!).
This was considered a Halloween race and there was a costume contest after the 5K was over. I didn’t want to race in a costume, so I just wore my race shirt that I got when I picked up my number. But there were some pretty amazing costumes that day. This might be my favorite group.
The mom is a banana, the dad is a gorilla, and the baby in the carrier is a little monkey. I also saw lots of Disney characters and several groups of Minions from “Despicable Me”.
The 5K went ok. The hills seemed endless and I heard many other people saying the same thing or groaning when they saw the uphill ahead. I realized that I was not going to have an amazing time so I just focused on finishing.
I finished this race about 90 seconds slower than my last 5K. But considering all the hills, I’m pretty happy about that.
Of course I had to take an after picture celebrating my 6th 5K!
My next 5K is on Saturday. I’m getting a little nervous about it. I’ve never done 2 competitive 5Ks in the same week. And I didn’t know when I signed up for the next one that it has a time limit. And typically, I’m about 10 minutes slower than that time limit. The only thing I can hope for is that either they are very lenient on that time limit or that there is someone who starts the race about 10 minutes after me (they start the time limit after the last person starts the race).
I know that I can’t get 10 minutes faster in a couple of days so there isn’t much I can do about it. I just hope that my 5K on Saturday isn’t the first one where I get picked up by the sweeper van and am not allowed to finish.
There’s no point worrying since it is what is it. For now, I’m celebrating finishing 5K #6!
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