One of the funnest races ever!

We had spirit.  We had a rockin’ atmosphere.  We had dogs everywhere.  We had bagels.

One does not run this for a PR… one runs this for fun.  And spirit.  Which we had (as stated above).

9 a.m. start time for James and the 12K.

As the race was in Renton, about an hour away from us, we opted to get up at 5 (on a Sunday… so I guess you know what I DIDN’T do last night… like drink).  Meep (cat) was none too impressed and didn’t understand why we weren’t following routine… like sleeping until 9.  Do you have any idea how hard it is to get through a morning when a half-Siamese cat is following you around and screaming at you the entire time, telling you to go back to bed??

Ignoring the cat and focusing on the task at hand, leaving promptly at 5:58, we arrived in Renton around 7 a.m.  Score! No traffic!  Empty parking lot!  Barely any people!  No line to the port-a-loos!!

A fabulously relaxing Sunday morning (#truth) as we sat in the Target Starbucks, warm and cozy, having coffee and tea, until it was time to head to the start line.  BTW… this was the line to the portables 20 minutes before my 5K race started at 9:20.  Somewhere in the distance you can see the potties (#runnersproblems).  Surprisingly, it only took me 15 minutes:

One Seahawks player, three Sea-Gal cheerleaders, and Blitz (the mascot) were on hand to send the runners off, along with the Seahawks Drum Line, Blue Thunder.  The energy was high.

Yes, it was cold at about 42 degrees.  I had my hoodie on, which I took off for the race, although I did have a warming long-sleeve underneath my Seahawks tee.

And oh yeah… a thermal warming blanket.

The start line looked like this:

And this:

And everywhere in between:

Faux-hawks, puppies, and 12th Man Spirit abound:

Somewhere amongst the 5000+ people out for a little run today, I earned this:

… the coveted 12th Man Bling!  The race tee was probably one of the best ever:

A lightweight hoodie.  The only shirt that even compares to this is Tulsa’s Route 66 Half-Marathon long-sleeved jacket, which I wear all the time:

Post race was a bagel, banana, and water.  Okay, I would’ve loved some chocolate milk AND water, but I won’t complain.

The race was great, the people were awesome,  swag amazing, and in the end, I got my chocolate milk once we got home.  That, and potato soup, courtesy of Subway.

A really great day!