As I type this right now, my calves and shins are punishing me for the beating I laid on them yesterday. We arrived at The Bronx Zoo at 7:30am to check-in and received our tees. The first mistake I made was not eating breakfast before we left. I was hoping there would be food for sale. There was only free coffee, which I was very grateful for after 5 hours of sleep. The weather was absolutely perfect. Mid-fifties at the start of the race. A sponsor held a yoga session to stretch us out, which totaled at about 3,000 people!
We stayed at the back of the pack with the children and strollers. I had no intention of running. We speed-walked 95% of the way with a short jog in the middle. My second mistake was wearing leggings that kept creeping down! I had to constantly pull them up which definitely slowed me down. It's unfortunate because my legs actually felt better while jogging. The scenery along the walk was wonderful. We had glimpses of animals and bird songs to keep us going. The walk was hilly and curvy at times which definitely worked out my thigh muscles.
Everyone was in a wonderful mood. The last mile felt like an eternity. My shins and calves were on fire for the first 2 miles. My legs felt better during the last mile but my lungs began to burn. We made a turn and finally saw the '3 mile' sign. We finished! A radio station was at the finish line to greet us with cheers, and jokes. I forgot to check our time, but I'd say we ended in around 1 hour. Tables were set up with goodies and food! I was totally surprised when I saw fruit, yogurt, breads and water. Everyone received a goodie bag with a free toy (an eco-friendly themed Diego toy), organic body wash and smaller freebies. My face was a nice shade of red but I was very surprised at how well I felt. I was back to 100% after the snacks.
Tiki Barber ran and later signed autographs. There were also free massages. The lines for both were way too long so I snapped a few shots of Tiki and we moved on.
We made our way to the Congo exhibit since we received free tickets. We went to see what we huffed and puffed for. The biggest gorilla sat right in the middle of the display window for us. He seemed very relaxed and just gazed at us as his family strolled and played in the background. He was probably more worried about 'mastering his domain', but he just might have been thanking us. Ok, maybe not.
I'd say it was a complete success being it was their first annual 5K and they managed to raise a decent amount of money. I will definitely do this event again and will sign up for other 5K events. I've taken away a couple of lessons such as:
Get enough sleep!
Wear comfortable (and fitting) clothing.
Eat a nutrient-rich meal beforehand.
Stretch before and afterward thoroughly.
Take a painkiller before bed.
On top of the 5K, my family and I took an impromptu road trip up to Bear Mountain State Park. We picnicked and enjoyed the gorgeous weather and scenery. My husband and I were tired and are paying the piper today but it was a great day!
1 comment:
I'm seriously behind, but I'm glad I took the time to catch up with what's been going on. Hello Tiki Barber! Yum! When I saw the Giants play (and beat the tar out of) the Cowboys, I took about 7,000 pics of Tiki warming up. Haha!
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