Dam to Dam 5K Race!

Saturday Kyle and I ran the 5K Dam to Dam race in Des Moines. This was a first for both of us. I have been working out and running since November, but Kyle just started about 3-4 weeks ago. We’ve been pushing each other along ever since!! Some nights when one of us doesn’t feel like running, the other always gets that one going!! I <3 the buddy system, especially when my “buddy” is my hubby!!

Just getting into downtown Des Moines…T –1 hour till race time!!

Since this was a first for both of us we really didn’t know what to expect. I was thinking I would have a big rush of adrenalin and feel better than I usually do running, but that wasn’t the case at all. It was tough. Kyle kept me going the whole way. I think I held him back a little too, but he won’t admit that….what a nice guy!

Just before the gun went off for the start of the race!!

Waiting for the gun to go off…feeling good!!

There were over 2500 people running the 5K race. It was CRAZY!! We didn’t even cross the start line until after about a minute after the gun went off. The first part of the race was really PACKED and we were dodging people the whole way. And we got a good pace going right away.

And we’re off!! Can you spot us…walking to the start line?!?!?

If you are familiar with the downtown Des Moines area and are curious…here is a map of the route. The pink line is the 5K route. Here is the description of the route from damtodam.com:

The 3.1 mile course is flat and fast winding through the east side of the downtown area. Shortly after the first mile, the course turns right onto East River Drive. The 5 kilometer course turns around just before the bike path near University Avenue and heads back south, then goes west on Locust Street to the finish. 

Check out this picture from the start of the race!! (dmregister.com)

My Dad even came down to watch and support us! We were so glad and appreciative that we had him there! And I think he was proud of us!! Thanks again Dad for coming…it really meant a lot to have you there!!

My boss has been a runner for quite some time now and has run the Dam to Dam 5K quite a few years in a row. She is kinda the reason we did it…so thanks to Angie!! Angie finished with her personal best, less than 25 minutes! Great job Ang!!! :)

This is Angie & I before the start of the race!

Our chip time was 29:15 so we are estimating that we ran the actual 3.1 miles in 28:15 (or less) because we didn’t get to cross the start line until about a minute after the gun went off. We were hoping for a time in the 27 minute range, but overall happy with how we did.

Dad didn’t get to see us cross the finish line. For one there were thousands of people…and two he had to leave the area for about a minute because there was someone puking, just like me, my Dad has a weak stomach!

We met up with Angie, her husband, and Dad after the race for some of the complimentary eats they have! Popsicles, water, Gatorade, apples, oranges, bananas, sandwiches, and so on and so on!!! Nice to get some eats to re-fuel after our first race!!

Feeling good after finishing the race!!

It was such a great experience and can’t wait to do some more races in the future with my favorite workout buddy…my hubby!!