#20 - Race for the Cure 2007

My second 5K since starting this list (4th overall) took on special meaning this year. My sister-in-law, Melinda, died a few weeks ago from breast cancer. She was 31, left behind 3 young kids, and we'll never be the same. Her oldest is a nearly 7 year old daughter with genetic risks for breast cancer from both sides of the family (our mom's mom and sister died from this disease also). It really set the clock ticking - early screening didn't save Melinda -we've got to find a cure. I was already training for it, but this really lit a fire under me and blasted away any excuses from my dates with the treadmill. I even put in some road miles in the morning on the weekends. This year's Race was amazing. We got a lot of people from my office to join in, as well as several friends. There were over 16,000 registered runners. The morning was a bit chilly, but with the great sunshine we had today, I was overdressed with 3 layers of shirts. I got a stitch in my side the 1st mile, but it faded and my left foot went a little numb the last mile, but I defintiely tolerated the race physicially a little better this year. This allowed my to push a little harder and I shaved 2 minutes off my 5K time with a final timing chip time of 40:34. Should be easy to get under the 40 minute mark for my next race, but I've got to keep training.