Resolution 2010: Race 2--Valentine's Day

With my New Year's Day race under my belt, it was time to start looking for a Valentine's Day run.  There were several in the greater Seattle/Tacoma area to choose from, but eventually I decided to go with the Love 'em or Leave 'em Valentine's Day Dash up at Green Lake Park in Seattle.

I've always loved Green Lake, it's so beautiful, and one of my favorite things about running outside is having gorgeous scenery to look at...and it doesn't get much prettier than Green Lake.  Another one of my favorite things about running races (particularly holiday races) is ALL THE COSTUMES!!!!  There were people dressed like Cupid, others in pink and red galore, and some people had even brought their four-legged friends in costumes to participate in the day's festivities.  Humans and dogs alike got up to the start line, the gun went off, and we were gone on our mission to finish this 'lovely' 5K.

I took off, and the energy and electricity of everything and everyone around me pushed me around the lake.  I crossed the finish line at 27:43, which averaged out to just under 9 minutes per mile (the average of everyone who ran was 33:58, so I was extremely happy to have finished faster than average) and I ended up placing 619th overall out of the 2,338 runners who participated.  No real idea how many dogs beat me, but let's not think about that!  In addition, out of the 1,577 females that ran, I placed 288th, and in my division (females 20-29) I was 117th out of 524.  Overall, I did pretty well for the second holiday race of the year, and I got a pretty great shirt out of it...

...so I was a pretty happy camper...er, I mean runner!

Have you ever run a Valentine's Day race?