Stars & Stripes Forever 5K race recap – July 4, 2013

On the morning of July 4, I raced in my very first 5K in Oklahoma City — Stars & Stripes Forever 5K. I wasn’t sure what to expect since this was my first race, so I did have a little anxiety on the way there and didn’t sleep much at all the night before.

My husband and kids came with me to cheer me on.

We arrived about 50 min before race time and I got my packet information quickly. I put my bib on, put my timing chip on my shoe and started drinking my pre-workout drink and before I knew it, it was time to head over to the starting line.

There were about 300 or so people registered for the race. The gun went off and I started running. I ran the first 3/4 mile without stopping and maintained a nice pace, then I began doing run/walk intervals.

Here is one of my race pictures.

The course was nice and flat and luckily the weather was very nice that morning. According to Garmin, it was about 68 degrees at race time. There was a nice, cool breeze on the last half of the course.

While I was racing, my husband was able to keep the kids entertained at a park right by the finish line.

I finished the race in 40:53, with a pace of 12:58. Garmin showed 3.15 miles.

I had a great time at my first 5K. I will definitely do this race again next year.