Run Throo the Zoo 5K Race Report

Today was another great Throo the Zoo 5K! This is my fourth time doing this event and it's always a fun, no pressure time, but this year, the changes on the course made the race much more pleasurable. Sure, there was still a lot of weaving in and out between strollers and walkers at the start BUT there was room to do so! In the last few years, the congestion has been unbearable, and just when you feel like you found an opening, you were headed right back into a narrow path that forced people into a slow walk. That's all changed and the new course that includes Poplar Level was great!

Some of the highlights of today's race:

The smells! I'm running into the back portion of the zoo and the strong smell of grilled food hits my nose! I think, "Mmmm, that smells fantastic!" And before I could even finish the thought, the smell of animal poo also hits my nose! What a let down! On a positive note, I smelled lots of refreshing honeysuckle along the way!

A mother taunting her son (he was about 7 or 8 years old). "You're not going to let a GIRL beat you, are you? And your MOM? You're going to have to go tell all of your friends that your MOM beat you today!" Needless to say, after he saw me laughing, he took off running again! LOL

Seeing my own mom at a couple of places along the course! She came out to support me and take pregnant running pictures!

The little guy that was really having a tough time but kept plugging away. I tried to talk him through it and he really had a strong determination. I hope he did well and finished strong. I know he had it in him!

I finished under 45 minutes, which was really all I wanted. Clock time was 42:48, but technically, I was probably sub-42:00. I'm surprised I was even THAT fast because my heart rate monitor felt like it was beeping incessantly on this hilly course!

At 27 1/2 weeks pregnant, this was Little One's fifth official race! He's been quite active today and I feel like recovery will be easy enough. I'm sore but it's nothing a little stretching and rest can't cure!

It was nice to see some friends at the end of the race, too! I just felt bad that I had to leave them so abruptly to utilize the facilities--but what can you expect from an overly-hydrated pregnant runner? LOL

Happy Running everyone!