Heart to Soles 5k – Houma, Louisiana – 5kin50states

I did it! Another state, another 5k.

Boy I am feeling this one.

I would like to say it was because we had to get up at 3am to make it all the way to Houma for the race at 7, or the fact that we were quite active the week preceding the race, biking the Trace, geocaching & running.

In reality, it’s because I haven’t been keeping up with running every other day like I should.

The day before the race, my hip was killing me, just cranky from all the different kinds of activity I’ve been doing since the first of the year. During the race, I had to settle for intervals again, since even after the aspirin dosage before the race, I couldn’t stand the pain.

Samantha waiting patiently for me to pass her spot!

I finished in 44:19 – not as good as my Tennessee time, but better than my Georgia time. I still finished with a smile on my face & that’s what matters!

The race itself was okay, but a little disorganized. This is the second annual race & I am sure things will smooth out over the years. There was a 5k, and also a half marathon being run with two different paths the runners take. There was an awful lot of confusion as to where the start of the race was, and where the runners should go. Shouting out instructions in the beginning of the race was a little crazy & someone asked me where the 5k path went. Hell if I knew what street names were just shouted out! Since I knew I wasn’t leading, I figured I would go with the flow & that worked. The route was through the city and wasn’t exactly scenic – but on the plus side, the traffic was well contained by the police and local bikers rode along the route as well. The setup inside for the beginning & end of the race was inside the civic center & was nicely staffed.

What I learned: don’t over do the exercise the week before, even if your goal in 2012 is to be active every day. I also learned that Louisiana humidity (in the winter!!) is hell on my hair & I seriously need to get a haircut. I haven’t seen that kind of frizz in awhile!

Almost at the finish line!