Bill Pullman Rocks! - Celebration Run 5k 2017

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After getting Hubby to work at about 5:15, I headed directly to Jax. I skipped my Circle K stop, since I brought a can of Pepsi with me this time. The drive was pretty uneventful and I got there just before 7am (cutting it close to the start time of 7:30). I parked in front of Stonewood Grill, a little closer than I parked for the race on Memorial Day, and walked over to the store for Packet Pickup.

I'm parked to the far right, just out of sight

There are already a lot of people here

Waiting....

Almost 10 minutes

I was in line for almost 10 minutes, and once I got my shirt, I went back to the car to gear up as quickly as I could. On the way back to the race start, I drank my Pepsi.

Nice and soft v-neck shirt (still doesn't fit though)

One awesome perk of this race is that the race director brings out tons of HUGE American flags, for runners to run with.  I was just sure that they'd run out of flags before I had a chance to get one, but I was in luck (though, I did miss out on the Betsy Ross flag...)

Oh say, can you see?

I got into the crowd around 7:25 and waited for the start - and of course, took a few start line photos!

My shirt says "Home of the Free, Because of the Brave"

3rd time I've used these pompoms!

After the National Anthem, we were off! I didn't take very many photos this time, mostly due to the giant flag! I very much underestimated how heavy and hard to run with it would be! I would lay it against one shoulder for a few minutes, then switch to the other. Back and forth for 3 miles!

At the beginning...

I noticed one runner early on, an older (okay, middle-aged?) gentleman in tiny shorts, and he gave off an "Elementary PE Teacher" vibe to me. I couldn't keep my eyes off of his legs! Unfortunately, none of my photos came out worth a damn, so you don't get to appreciate the curly-haired-ness of them (is that a word?)

Really pretty older ranch-style home with lots of flags

By Mile 1, I decided to give up trying to run with this grand ol' flag. I would just carry it proudly, as I listened to Sousa marches on my iPod.

It's hot people. Like it's July or something...

There was a water stop between Miles 1 and 2, but I skipped it, since I still had some ice in my Nathan.

One thing I love about this course (and this area) is that they are all very patriotic. So many houses had some sort of flag decoration!

Another great house with flags

After I passed Mile 2 (no idea where the photo is...) there was another water stop, so I got a cup. I soaked my cooling towel and poured the rest on my head.

Cutie-patooties with flags!

Anyone know what TV show or movie this is from?

Finally, made it to Mile 3 and the finish line, which was right around the corner. 

So close!

It's up there!

And I finished! I held the flag high and let it wave as I crossed under the banner!

My official time was 51:59 (pace 16:43).  I was 53rd out of 59 in my age group, F35-39, and 830th out of 886 total finishers (I beat 56 people).

I got my medal then headed over to the trailer to return my awesome flag.

I'm a winner, baby... okay, I'm a finisher, baby!

Look at all the people who finished before me!

I walked back towards the after-party area and got a PowerIce and a few packs of Toast-Chee crackers. There weren't many vendor tents, and none of them had anything I wanted to look at, so I grabbed a slice of watermelon (it IS Independence Day, after all!) and watched the last few runners come in. 

I ate some of it

Once everyone had come in, I walked back up to the front to watch the awards and participate in the raffle. 

So, most raffles that I've ever participated in... they call a number and if you have that number, you get a prize. Seems pretty normal, right? Not this one!

They were using a random number generator to call numbers (rather than having everyone's bib number in a cup or something), but at the same time, there was another guy literally throwing inexpensive prizes into the crowd! Kids wised up to this pretty quickly, and they became like a fucking pack of velociraptors! Bigger kids were jumping in front of smaller kids to get all the prizes, even if they'd already gotten a prize, and the guy tossing stuff wasn't tossing very hard, so nothing ended up in the adult section of the crowd. 

And then, the guy calling actual numbers... If the number he called wasn't an exact number - like if there was no 74 in the crowd, but there was a guy who had bib 71, that guy would get the prize, since he's the closest to the actual number. I stood through the entire raffle and ended up being the closest bib for the number called, and I won some Thera-Band kinesiology tape, worth about $12 (I tried it out later that night on my PF and WOW! Boys, and girls, this shit is FANTASTIC!!!!) Ironically, my number was even closer to the final prize - a Polar fitness watch - but I'd already won, so I couldn't win again (even if I gave back the TB tape). 

Once the event was over, I headed back to my car, rolling my eyes at some little asshole velociraptor in the parking lot - literally screaming at his parents because he didn't like the prize he won in the raffle. He apparently won a book and was pissed about it. I have no patience for ungrateful people, especially ungrateful children, and I was very close to backhanding that little bastard. The only saving grace was that the parents, while not telling him to shut up, was being very logical in telling him that he could have refused the prize, or given it to someone else, or donated it to a needy person. In other words, they were only having a little of his bullshit, but not all of it. 

I hit up a nearby CVS to change clothes, and purchased some Milk-Duds and soda for the Pee Fee™

I ended up taking a wrong turn and crossed over the Main Street Bridge, which threw me for a minute... I usually am walking over it coming the other way (during the Gate River Run)! It was kind of fun to go the other way!

Oh shit - I'm headed downtown!

Oops... gotta turn around

I stopped at Daily's and got gas and a car wash and then headed over to Orange Park Mall for lunch and some shopping.

Yeah, it's hot. Damn hot. Real hot.

I scored some clearance clothes at Penney's then got some tasty Chick-fil-A  (no Moe's this time) before going over to Party City. Finally, even though I didn't have to pick up Hubby from work, I was ready to head home, so I hit up another convenience store for a fountain drink, then made my way home.