Couch to 5K - Color Run 2012

It started on a whim on September 5.  I'd been meaning to get back into a regular exercise routine for weeks, but a myriad of excuses were winning.  When I heard The Color Run was making a stop in Lawrence it was just the motivation I needed.  If I participated, not only was I making a financial commitment, but my pride was not going to let me make a fool of myself.  So I signed up.

Then I panicked.

I mean, I don't run.  At all.  Ever.  But The Color Run isn't just for runners.  In fact, it's not even a timed event.  They call it "The Happiest 5K on the Planet" for goodness sake.  Surely I could do that.  So I downloaded an app on my phone (MapMyWalk - highly recommend it), recruited a partner (Jackson) and started walking.  4 weeks and 20 walks later, we were ready for race day.

Team Elser

My very first race number...ever.

Guys, if you ever have a chance to participate in a Color Run, DO IT!  It was so much fun.  I mean...look at all these people!

I heard estimates of 7,000.  Literally lined up as far as you can see.

Drew joined us and served as cheerleader and photographer for Team Elser so we were able to get lots of great pics.



Our view at the starting line.



After the first color zone.  Jack got covered in yellow...and LOVED it!  You can see the yellow cloud behind us.

Coming out of the orange zone.

Almost done.  Jack and his stroller absorbed most of the color so I ended up staying relatively white.

Approaching the finish line!

Woo Hoo!  We did it!

The party zone at the finish line.  Color throws occur every 15 minutes.

Resulting in a rainbow clous of dust.

I'm so glad we did it.  I got to spend some quality time with Jackson leading up to the race as we walked every evening in preparation (the little guy rarely stops talking so I learned all sorts of things about his day), I finally got moving again after an inexcusably long hiatus, I tried something WAY outside of my comfort zone and had an absolute blast on race day.  As icing on the cake, I even finished the race at my quickest pace yet - despite having to maneuver all the traffic and slow to a near crawl through each color zone.

Such a fun day.  And now that I have my first 5K under my belt, it might not be my last!