>Cades Cove Loop Lope 5k (my results..finally!!!)

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I have sat down three different times to write this post and keep gettin distracted, so this will be short and sweet! We arrived bright and early at 6 am to the park. We parked, pottied and by 6:30 we had picked up our race day goodies. The tshirt was great and featured the logo above. The goody bag was awesome, too. It is a reusable little tote (big enough for carrying my lunch to work!) and contained goodies from Dolly Wood, Hard Rock Cafe and other local business as well as a yummy bag of trail mix. Sadly I couldn't eat the bag of trail mix because of the nuts and my  lovely braces, but my hubby and kids gobbled them both up!

I didn't take my camera while I ran but we got some before/after pics. The race itself was amazing and I ran my best first mile EVER! It was so easy (the first mile). I finished it in 9:34. Craziness! There was a hydration station set up just after the first mile. I am still kicking myself for slowing down and taking that little cup of PowerAde. I feel like that is where I slowed down and got a little discouraged.

I still have a new race PR, but had really hoped after such an awesome first mile to have finished a lot sooner than I did. My final race time was 36:35. Not too bad considering it was a new course for me (tough even, with rolling hills and change of race course). And since my first 5k two years ago I have shaved nearly 13 minutes off my 5k race time! This excites me. :)

Anyway, I was happy to have my hubby and great friend to share this experience with. This was a one time event and was well worth the $60 registration fee.

Hubby and me before the race. It was still slightly dark out. 

And us after the race. Each runner got one of these medallions. They are cedar and have the race logo carved on the front. Beautiful.

Also, I am so proud of my hubby. Even though he was disappointed in his time. (32:03) He still finished 3rd in his age group!! We were so excited when they announced his name. He got a cool black bear trophy! 

Overall it was a great race and fun day!