Hippie Chick race

My friend Anja and I signed up to run the 1/4 Marathon Hippie Chick race in Hillsboro this morning. It's been a long time since I ran a race, and Anja had never run that distance before, so we were both feeling a little nervous going in. But there was a great crowd - all women, except the 5k - and a fun atmosphere. Both our families came to cheer us off and watch us finish, and that was sweet.

It was a really hot, sunny day, especially for mid-May in Portland. I was glad that we were starting at 8 and would be finished before things got too warm.

 

There I am, on the Jumbotron as I enter the field to finish!

 I had enough kick to finish really strong.

Post-race happiness. I'm done! I can stop running now! I made it!

 Anja finishing just a few minutes behind me.

And the results! I came in 20th overall, out of a field of 525 runners. I was 2nd in my middle-aged lady age group, with a pace of 8:40 per mile, which was faster than I was expecting. All so good! We're looking ahead to our next race already. :)