A Thursday evening race to kick off July 4th weekend! The Firecracker 5K at Five Mile Dam was a great one! 🧨

Dudley Johnson Park, what a beautiful setting for a race! 😍

I took a quick stroll down the dam to get a closer look at the Blanco River.

After people-watching by the river I realized I had about 10 minutes before the race start! So as I climbed up a steep incline back up towards the park, I strained my left calf and struggled to get back to the race area. 😖

I was very nervous. I wasn’t familiar with the course so I didn’t know what to expect and was worried that hills or rugged terrain might further injure my strained calf. 😧

As I took my start line selfie 🤳🏻 I tried to have happy thoughts for a good race. 🙏🏻

I very cautiously proceeded through the start line trying to get a feel for what my calf would (and would not) be willing to do. 😬

With a 7:30pm start, the sun was beginning to set but it was still very hot. 🥵

The course was a beautiful, flat, out-and-back road race and my calf strain held up pretty well. I did have to “hobble” my way through but I finished and didn’t make it worse, thank goodness. 🙂

This was the home stretch and I was glad to be crossing the finish line so I could get back home and rest, as I have a 10K trail race scheduled for the next night! 😳

As soon as I got home, I elevated, iced and rested my calf in hopes to run again tomorrow night. 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻