Not since I ran the PF Chang's Marathon, have I run in a race. Tonight I went over to the 2nd annual Beat The Heat Knight 5k. It was put on by the Higley Knights Cross Country team.
It's been stormy all week in Arizona and tonight was no exception. Last nite I was getting ready to play softball when we heard a loud thunder crack and the ump immediately said 'go home'. Tonight the lightening was off in the distance. But, as the gun sounded 5 minutes early the rain came down. It wasn't too hard and made for a nice way to cool down. We did a lap on the track in front of dozens of fans in the bleachers, then headed out into the dark and down an abandoned roadway. They did set up spot lights along the road. The asphalt was removed, so it was really running on dirt. The spot lights would shine in our eyes and blind us. We couldn't see the elite runners on their return leg. Luckily the could see us.
I knew my time wouldn't be very impressive, I just wanted to run in a race and this was a small one close to home. For most of the race I was keeping up with 4 of the girl Xcountry runners. They had a better kick at the end and left me in the dust on the track.
You can click on the map above to see where we ran. When I was about 1/2 mile from the stadium, the lights went out. I told a volunteer that I was slow, but at least they could have left the lights on. I got a chuckle. We ended up running on the track in the dark.
Only got a luke warm bottle of water at the finish, but we did get a cool t-shirt for our efforts. It was an unusual race, because I think the average age was around 16-20. I doubt 38 minutes will get me a medal, eventhough I bet there are only 4-6 runners in my age category. I'll let you know.
