The REI Worst Day of the Year Run 5K was my third 5K ever and my first “official” 5K with my hubby. Note: I walked a good portion of the one I did in the fall of 2006 (didn’t train) and walked up the final hill at the end of the one I did during graduate school in the fall of 2012 (if you saw the hill you would have walked too). This race I ran the entire thing!

The weather conditions were far from “worst.” Typically a race held in Oregon this time of year would have lots of rain. We had a beautiful dry and sunny day to run. It sure makes training for a half marathon that much more appealing the more dry runs we’re blessed with.

The course is where “worst” was defined. I’ve done all of my training runs so far on very flat loops. After this rolling hill course I’ve learned that it’s time to add some hills into my training. It was by far the hardest run of my life, but I made it. Midway through I really found my spark and stride and enjoyed every step until that finish line. The course was gorgeous and the swag was great. I love that they gave runners a Columbia omni-heat fleece stocking hat instead of a t-shirt.