A Colorful, Cool Day For A 5K

Hey, I've done two 5Ks in the last six months! I'll admit...my exercise regimen hasn't been very consistent or successful since I sprained my ankle in February, but hey...at least I can say I've done two 5Ks in the last six months! That's something, right?

Anyway, way back in late January, some friends of mine posted a link on Facebook for a "Color Obstacle Rush 5K" that would be happening on May 16th. I did one other color run last September, but it was a very different format; it was at night, it was a run-only event (no obstacles), and the "color" involved was glow-in-the-dark water, which was periodically sprayed on you as you ran. The upcoming Color Obstacle Rush was a daytime event; it contained several obstacles; and the color was applied to you in powder form (my friends tell me it's cornstarch).

I was excited to sign up for this run with a bunch of friends; because it was in May, though, I encouraged everyone to sign up for the earliest possible start time. I reasoned it would be very hot already, and we would get tired out quickly if we waited too long to get running. So we signed up for a 9:00 start time.

Then, as often happens, life got in the way, and a few of the ladies who originally planned on running weren't able to make it. Other commitments, health issues, you name it. In the end, my running group consisted of four ladies: myself and my friends Rita, Miranda, and Taryn. We were all very excited; not all of us had done this before! We did see several other familiar faces throughout the morning, but this was our "core group."

And as for that weather? It was cloudy, breezy, and delightfully cool...perfect running weather! As I've mentioned before, this spring has been the most pleasant of our almost twelve years here in Arizona. We've barely needed the air-conditioner; we've kept our windows open late into the month of May; it's been unseasonably rainy and chilly. I've had to wear pants in the middle of May! And luckily for us, the beautiful weather held up for us on the day of the run. We were almost shivering before the race started!

Anyway, I left my camera behind for the actual race, so sadly I have no pictures of the action. But the race was a lot of fun. I hadn't done an obstacle-course race since the "zombie run" two years ago. This race was obviously much more "whimsical" than running away from zombies; most of the obstacles were inflatable tunnels/climbing walls/giant balls. We also ran through a foam fountain; the foam clung to our skin for several minutes and made us look even more interesting than we already did!

A couple of the obstacles actually had a little rainwater from the previous night collected on them. Luckily, it didn't disrupt our run, although it did make us a little muddier than we might otherwise have been. The most exhausting obstacle by far was the long, long line of concrete barriers we had to leap over, one by one like hurdles. This felt like it went on for approximately twenty minutes. I had intended to be a "completist" with all the obstacles for this race, but I ultimately gave up and skipped the last two or three barriers. I'm such a wimp.

And of course, we kept getting sprayed with brightly colored powder by smiling race staff the whole way! Here's how we looked at race's end:

We even got another pack of powder after crossing the finish line, which we quickly proceeded to blast each other with. We were quite a sight, but we loved it.

It was fun to check each other out afterwards and see who was the most "colorful." However, we did have to change some of our clothes before crawling into Miranda's car afterwards; it wouldn't do to bathe her interior with neon-colored, vaguely radioactive-looking powder!

I am so glad for the chance to hang out for a while with these cool ladies. They are awesome athletes who make me want to be better, and they are also awesome ladies who inspire me in many other, non-fitness-related ways. We celebrated our big run with a little ice cream and some deserved R&R. Then it was back to reality (and our families) for the rest of the day. With the end of school approaching, and Nathan's birthday along with it, there would be plenty for me to do! I was glad for this short burst of "me-time" in the midst of all the craziness. I hope I can get in another couple of runs before the end of the year. We'll see!