Race for the Cure

This morning was my 3rd Race for the Cure! In 2009 I ran it with a friend and we finished in 34:07. In 2010 we did the 3 Day for the Cure, so we did run the Race. In 2011, I had just started running again and I finished in a very disappointing (for me!) 37:31.
My daughter and i set out bright and early for Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, NJ. She would be doing the one mile health walk with her High School for the 2nd year in a row. We got there in plenty of time to get my bib and tee, take a potty break, and hit the Expo. They always have great stuff there, including the Ford Warriors in Pink scarf, tons of pens, nail files, tote bags, drawstring bags, water bottles, etc. We also made time for a photo op:

You can't see our bibs in full, but all walkers had #2012 and my number was #3012. Pretty cool, huh? Afterwards, she went off to be with her friends, and I went to prep for the 5K. I did some Zumba with the crowd before lining up, to pass the time.

Then it was off to the starting line, which was right by that balloon arch. They delayed the start to let last minute registrees line up and then we were off. After a bit of bottlenecking, the crowd thinned out enough that I could pass a bunch of slower runners/walkers. The course is exactly the same every year, so I knew about all of the hills. We ran around the parking lot and towards the Safari. After we passed the entrance we ran around another parking lot and back the way we came. I was amazed at my pace when I saw the one mile marker, my time was 9:46!
Back up the hill we went, past the parking lot, past the water station that I tried to zip past. Unfortuantely therer was some bottlenecking there and my pace slowed down to 12:00 temporarily. Once we passed the station though, it thinned back out. Hooray! Through Huuricane Harbor we went. Up and down hills, around bends, and past the 2 mile marker. My second mile time was 10:39. SO happy so far!
Some more twists and turns, staying on task and keeping up my speed. UNTIL. :::sigh::: youngins. Two 10ish year old kids, no parent, weaving and stopping and cutting people off. That slowed me down a tad, and I actually had to ask the girl to please be careful, because she almost tripped me. They became a little more aware after that!
One last turn, the home stretch! I am gonna do it! I am gonna PR!!! Holy crow, not only will I beat my course time, I am gonna PR!
NO.
A group of 5 twenty somethings, running 5 across, blocking every body. Bottleneck. UGH! People finally manage to pass them, I get past them, Final time: 31:41 WOW! Not an overall PR but what a huge PR for this course!
I had a great day, and got to see some great team shirts. This one was my fave:

Did you race this weekend?