Tonight I participated in the IOA Corporate 5k in Downtown Orlando. There was an ASTOUNDING 13,000 runners there. I’ve never run with that many people before. It seemed like a never ending starting line, so I jumped the gates and sandwiched in the middle, still waiting about 5 minutes just to get to a slow jog.

After this experience I just want to go over a few rules and protocols for all race participants that should be followed strictly in the future (especially when I’m running near you):

• If you’re not jogging, move yourself to the back
• Do not run/walk with a side by side entourage so no one can pass
• PLEASE no farting! Take care of that beforehand…
• Look before you spit
• Look before you decide to cross an entire jogging path
• Do not stop abruptly
• Do not throw a full water cup on the ground in front of someone (it splashes up)
• Just try and be aware

I finished in about 31 minutes, which is a little slow, but I think it’s because of the crowd. The good news? The refreshments were ready for us as we crossed the finish line: water, bananas, and BEER!

CKG reppin'

Today was such a glorious day! I was sooo excited to get back into the swing of things. I went to Yoga this morning and ended it with a nice short jog. I haven’t been able to run for a few weeks, and then I got sick, so needless to say I was feeling a bit antsy.

I usually run around Lake Eola a few times and then head back to the gym, but it seemed today was the day to stay out and enjoy the weather, so after my jog I decided to stroll around the park with everyone else. I hit up the Sunday Farmer’s market and conducted some people watching activities. I couldn’t believe how many dogs were around. It really was quite an enjoyable day, and I’m very happy to get back in the game after these last few weeks!

I blame Shawn. (@affiliatetip) He tweeted and taunted me today that I haven’t been running, and that he passed me in the rankings on our little Nike+ challenge. If you haven’t heard of Nike+ (plus) you must must must go get it! It’s FANTASTIC to track your runs and to help you set goals/compete with friends. It really has pushed my running to another level. It’s like a game. Now I can’t quit during a run because I know everyone will see it. So today I said I would have to do 10 miles to catch up. Once on the treadmill and 8 miles in, I thought, heck I could do more. So I decided to go for 12. Then I thought, well geez, that’s almost a half marathon, i should just do the full 13.1 and get it over with. So I did. It made me think of the nike ad “just do it”… hence the inspired Day 28 photo:

Just do it!