Operation Smile 5k

In June we will be part of a 40 mile relay race in Idaho Falls called To Bone and Back. Each leg is 5 miles, so we've been building up to that distance. As part of our preparation, we ran 5000 miles (that is what a 5k is, right?) this past Saturday at a park in Provo Canyon. This was Jen's first 5k, and I'm kind of mad at myself for not getting very good shots of her. In my defense, she was running so fast I just didn't have time to set up properly.

Final stretch, keep those knees up!!


After crossing the finish line, Jen has a smile on her face. She was pretty nervous before the race, but afterward she said it "wasn't that bad."



Post-race photo op

Steve sucking down some water. He'd tried to ruin this picture by drooling that water down his chin and onto his shirt, but I snapped the picture first. Nice try, Steve. I hope you enjoyed your wet shirt.

The course itself was kind of weird. It was supposed to be on a dirt trail on the mountain for half the race, but it snowed the day before so it was more of a snow trail. It was also freezing cold. The whole race group had to hike up the mountain several minutes just to get to the starting line. For about 200 yards or so the trail was very steep, so the race organizers made everyone walk this section, not that I would have wanted to run it anyway since it was so slick.

Overall it was still fun, though. Our times were a bit slow because of the ice and forced walking, but at least now we have some base times to try to improve on. We plan on running several 5ks in preparation for Bone and Back, and probably even a 10k, so look for some new running pictures in the coming weeks.