Race Day.

This past weekend was our big 5k/10k run.  Doug, Jessica, and I have been running and training for probably about two months getting ready for the run.  We were really hoping for a beautiful spring race day since the weather was so great the weekend leading up the the race.  But, we were not so lucky.  That Saturday it rained, and I mean really rained.  On top of that, it was really windy.  You could see ripples of rain blowing towards you from the wind.  Luckily the race was on Sunday and not Saturday.  The weather cleared up a little bit over night but it was still really windy and cold.  We were not really in the mood for running when we woke up that day.  I was even thinking maybe I'd walk some of it since I just really really didn't want to run.  But, it is amazing what being around a crowd of people working towards the same goal as you does.

Lining up for the 10k race definitely started to get my blood pumping.  There were so many people running -over 5,000 people were registered between the three races!  When the race finally started I had my music playing and was feeling motivated.  The first five or so minutes was just weaving through the crowd, letting the fast runners pass you and passing the slow guys as I found my pace.  It was definitely still a challenge and one stretch of the course specifically seemed like it would never end, but seeing all the people running around me kept me going.  On the second half of the run, I kept passing an older Korean lady.  When she saw me pass her she put out her hand for a high five!  This lady was probably about 50-60 and was running with a huge smile on her face.  From that point on, whenever one of us would run by the other we would high five again.

I finally finished the race in 61 minutes and saw Doug, Jess, Thomas, and Bethany cheering me on since they had already finished their run.  I was so proud of Doug.  He finished in 29 minutes for his first 5k race, which is amazing!  After the races we ate sandwiches together and then headed back to our warm homes.  It was such a great experience to be able to run a race in Korea.  It was actually something that I really hoped to do while we were here, but didn't know if I would be able to register for a race since I don't speak Korea.  I am so thankful to our friend Amy that organized all of the foreigners and registered for us!  She is awesome!  Running through the countryside and seeing the mountains with pale pink cherry trees scattered among the green is something I'll never forget.

We snapped this picture before the race when we were feeling nervous and jittery!

Looking pretty excited as I cross the finish line :)