If you haven't figured it out already, I'm a big Alabama fan. I grew up watching Alabama football on game day Saturdays, and I've been to quite a few games. I love the atmosphere, the energy of the crowd cheering "Roll Tide", the sound of the Million Dollar Band playing "Yeah Alabama", and watching the Bama boys dominating the opponent.
When I heard of this 5K, I thought it would be a good excuse for a weekend getaway in Tuscaloosa. When I learned more about the cause for this race, I was even happier that I signed up.
The Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah 5K was held in Tuscaloosa, AL. The name "Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah" comes from Alabama football's strength and conditioning coach Scott Cochran. He is known to yell "Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah" on the sidelines to get the team pumped up. He was going to be at the run to announce the start of the race.
The run was to raise awareness for cystic fibrosis. Proceeds from the run would benefit the Thomas Plott Foundation named for Thomas, a young boy fighting the genetic disease. Thomas' life depends on funding to help find a cure. With the help of fundraising events like this one, the Thomas Plott Foundation has paid or pledged over $300,000 in the past four years to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation to be used to help fund their quest for a cure and drug development.
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| We were so excited to meet Scott Cochran. We held up our "four" fingers signifying in football to play all four quarter of the game and finish strong. |
There was a great turn out for this run with close to 500 participants. The race started at Government Plaza and ran through downtown. The start time was 9:00, which is late for a Summer run. The sun was out in full force and it was extremely hot! I usually don't carry my Nathan handheld during races, but I was really glad I brought it with me on this run. It was completely empty when I finished. I started out thinking I could maintain my usual 5K pace, but I quickly fell apart. Halfway through the race I started walking, and I walked the majority of the second half. My time was 31:18, and you can see from my splits how my pace deteriorated. I should have started out slower to account for the heat and humidity.
Mile 1-8:25
Mile 2-9:55
Mile 3-11:44
My mom struggled with the heat too. We both added at least 5 minutes to our usual 5K finish times.
We still had a fun time, and that's really what it's all about. This has been one of the most memorable 5K's I've done. We got to meet Scott Cochran and have our picture taken with Big Al, our team mascot, all while supporting a great cause.
Dad even had his picture taken with some Alabama cheerleaders.
I'm concluding this post with a BIG B-A-M-A "ROLL TIDE ROLL!"
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