Race #2: February - Chasing Cupid 5K

This Valentines Day became race day for me this year.  The Chasing Cupid 5K. We had the opportunity to chase Cupid through Gardner Village in Midvale, Utah.  5Ks are short and sweet and on days as cold as this one, the race doesn't last as long, so I don't have to spend too long shivering.

We received a Chasing Cupid 5K t-shirt with registration.  I love getting shirts.

Here I am freezing my butt off before the race began.

 Dressing up in costume is completely encouraged for this race.  I always love the idea of dressing up, but rarely come up with a good idea for a costume.  And if I do, it's too late to implement it.  But I did decide to wear a tutu and puffy thing on my head.  There were prizes given for the top 3 costumes. 

 Striking a pose.

During the race all the Cupids could run around "shooting" people with stickers.  If you were given a sticker then you could claim a prize after the race.  A fun idea.

In case I didn't mention earlier, it was FREEZING!! So cold that I couldn't feel my legs until after I finished.  But these crazy Cupids didn't seem to mind at all.   I finished this race in 29 minutes and 50 seconds.  Yay, I kept in under 30 minutes!!

After the race there was HOT soup, water, and cookie dough.  The soup was SOOOO good.  We were also given finisher medals.

I love small races.  And by small, I mean not very many people participating.  There was no fighting for parking, you could hear all the announcements before the race began, and you get to see most of the costumes.  I would definitely do this race again next year.

Race #1: January - Bigfoot Snowshoe 10K

 The first race of the year.  The Bigfoot Snowshoe 10K.  What was I thinking?!!  I'm just not sure.   I had just come off of the holidays, where I feel like I ate my weight in treats with NO exercise.  I had been sick for a whole week.  So, my training was limited to 2 weeks.  And I hadn't put on my snowshoes yet this winter.  (No snow will do that.) What saved me was having a friend to do this with.  She was my lifesaver.

When we started the race, I was feeling pretty good.  But trudging through the snow is hard work.  By the end of mile 1, I was feeling the burn. 

 There was a great distraction from my burning lungs, and that was the beauty of the morning.  The day was a perfect one. 

 This is us running down the hill.  Since there was little snow this year and it was so warm, it was more like slipping and sliding down the hill.

 Finishing Strong.

 Bigfoot waiting to greet us at the end of the course.

I did it.  I finished my first snowshoe 10k in 2 hours and 7 minutes.  The beauty was worth the time and struggle of the mountain.  The only thing I was a little disappointed in was the lack of medal at the end.  I LOVE my medals.  They're fun reminders of what I've accomplished.  There weren't any medals for the 10K participants.  Hopefully that changes in future years.