5k take two

Well, I am still running.  You never know how long these "new year's resolutions" will last but mine is still going.  Today I ran my second 5k of the year. I was hoping to have a big improvement from my first one since I feel like I am in shape now and was not even close to it with my first one a few weeks ago.  This race was in Conway.  Before I tell you about how I finished I want to tell you about why we went to Conway for a 5k.
Some of Margo's family organized this race (2k, 5k, and 10k) to raise money for Arkansas Children's Hospital.  Margo's 2nd (?) cousin (I am not really sure how the cousin numbering system works) lost her two daughters in the past few years.  One died at 6 weeks old to a heart infection and the second at almost 3 years old died last year from brain cancer.  It is a really sad story, I don't even like to think about it.  If you want to read more about it and watch a video that was on Little Rock tv local news a couple days ago click here.
Back to my race today... my first 5k I ran in 26:27 and my main goal for this 5k was to run a faster time and hopefully do it in under 25 minutes which I thought might be pushing it for my second race. But I knew I was in a lot better shape this time and I had high hopes.  Much to my surprise, when I finished the race I finished in 23 minutes even. I was so surprised that I mapped the race when I got home to make sure it really was a full 5k and it wasn't short (it wasn't). As an added bonus and surprise, I placed first in my division (male age 31-40) and I placed 16th out of 350 racers.  I even got a medal for placing first in my division.  I was very surprised. I can only hope that I keep with running for a while and keep improving. I still have a ways to go to meet my overall goal.
The whole event was a lot of fun.  It was very family friendly with lots of activities. The girls had a blast running around and playing.  It also was a really good day not just because I did well but because it was to support a good cause in honor of two little girls who are greatly missed by their family.

Proof that I was there