Finished 5 Miler!

Luan and I just before the start of the race. Tran is taking the photo.

Luan, Tran, Me (Paula), Vinh, and Sam after the race.

My bib number was 456 and my overall pickup number was 20456. Of course I didn't set my watch right when I started so I could get my time right away, but I did a few minutes after I started. My guess is that I did the 5 miles in about 1 hour 10 minutes or so. Once the results are posted I will check the actual.

This 5 mile event as part of the Portland Marathon is really a great event. There were people of all ages and athletic abilities. I never knew it was so much fun. It was really $25 well spent. Not that I needed another t-shirt but it was nice to get the t-shirt and all of the food just after the race. 

The packet pick up was on Saturday which is when you go to get your bib and other things. I got the arm band from Kaiser Permanente for free for participating. Along with the pick up of packets at the Hilton downtown there was a free athletic expo full of vendors. I bought a pair of my running/walking shoes since they had such great prices at the expo. They gave me a free running shirt and a pair of cool socks. 

Once I got home it occurred to me that those with money really are able to get more for free. The phrase, "you have to have money to make money" took on a different dimension for me today. Since Saturday, I got so much for free, the 2 shirts, socks, 2 arm band things (I gave one away and could have gotten more), yogurt, fruit, cheese, cookies, pedometer, etc. These are all things I can use. In fact, a couple of weeks ago I was looking at buying the arm band thing. 

It is encouraging to see how much Kaiser Permanente is doing in the community using their slogan "Thrive." Kaiser is my healthcare provider and so far it has been a relatively good experience. There is always a bit of a rocky road with healthcare and getting what you need but it doesn't seem any different than the other plans I have been on. I hope they keep up all of the things they are doing.