January 1, 2013 Commitment Day Run

My husband, daughter, and I decided to try something new for New Years' Day.  We drove to Fairfax, VA and joined hundreds other runners for the inaugural Commitment Day Run in Washington, DC.  I love going to runs/races because it is a great motivator for me and the spirit and energy of all of the runners is contagious and uplifting.  We got there early because we weren't sure how difficult it would be get parking, especially since we didn't have any idea how many people would be there.  We picked up our numbers, a T-shirt, and a free journal.  Then we stayed in the car to keep warm until time to head to the race.  
After taking my inhaler and all of us getting suited up, we walked to the race starting point.   My daughter joined other dancers in a line dance, while my husband and I had our picture taken.  We then grabbed our daughter and got a few pictures with all three of us.  We wandered around taking in all the runners and excitement.  The most interesting person had to be the young gentleman who was dressed in a suit, tie, and dress shoes with a number pinned to his shirt.  As he sipped his Starbucks coffee, we asked him if he was really going to run like that, and he said yes.  Wow!
We placed ourselves in the middle of the crowd, talked with a few nice people in the area and then headed out at the start signal.  The run was a 3.1 course that went on the roads around the Fairfax Corner shopping center.  Luckily it wasn't too hilly, and not as crowded as other runs I have been in.  I actually set a brand new best time for myself!  Woohoo!  My daughter found the suit man and asked him if he ran the whole way and if he had any blisters from his shoes.  He laughed and said yes he ran, and yes he had blisters.  Funny.
The whole point of Commitment Day is to help people commit to being healthier.  I think that this was the perfect way to ring in 2013.