5k #4 in the books

So, 5k #4 is in the books for me. Yesterday morning, Bruce and I ran, jogged, power-walked to the finish line. Really, I am very proud of my husband who jogged the entire course in less then 36 minutes! I, on the other hand, walked the entire course and finished in less than an hour.

We signed up for the "Baby Steps" 5k when some friends of ours decided to sign a team up in memory of the child they lost at 6 months pregnant, Eli. So, of course several people in our Sunday School class and church decided to race and there ended up being about 19 of us in total.

I had not trained at all, walked around the neighborhood a few times the week before but I do NOT count that as "training". So, when the big day came, I immediately started regretting ever signing up.Especially at 530AM on a Saturday! Had I lost my mind? Yes, I had. At least Bruce was right there beside me :)

We got ready and drove all the way to Tannehill State Park, which is about 45 minutes away from our house. We had never done this course before or knew anyone who had so we had no clue what to expect. When we got there, we signed in, found our friends, and were immediately attacked by mosquitoes. EVERYWHERE! This is a course of gravel, paved roads, and mostly trails and since it had rained the night before and there were mosquitoes everywhere.

When it started, I was towards the back since I knew I would be mostly walking. I did not want to kill myself, especially in the beginning. How embarrassing would it be to pass out in the first turn? Luckily that did not happen. I listened to my iTunes and jammed out at my own pace. The first mile is always the hardest for me. I guess because I'm usually not feeling it that early in the morning, I'm still nervous and regretting even signing up, and nervous because I don't know what to expect of the course. With that said, at 1.5 miles I ran walked up on my friend, Jody and her son Joseph (who is 7). She was practically dragging him and I thought "Bless her heart. This is going to be a long 1.6 more miles for her." So, I decided to try and encourage him and walked with them (even jogged several) times through the rest of the race. Joseph cracked me up because he said "I'm DONE!" about 5 times and wanted to stop for a break at every water station and bench. Laughing at him did make the last portion of the race go by very fast. We still finished in under an hour, which is always my goal :) Maybe one day I'll jog more and finish in 45 minutes or less. That would be cool but not going to kill myself to get to it.

This was a great race to reflect on things. I was definitely listening to my Jesus music and pushing through. Bruce and I are so very glad we did this race and while I know it meant a lot to our friends who we were there supporting, we have several other friends who have miscarried and we did it for them as well. We also did this race for us. I'm very glad to have another 5k under my belt and have plans to do the "Color Run" on Labor Day with Bruce, my step-dad, his wife and anyone else that would like to join us. I've read if you ever do a 5k, this is the most fun one and I absolutely CANNOT wait to do it and I never thought I'd ever say those words. We're also doing one a month for the rest of the year and hopefully going to sign up for the Mercedes Race in February in Birmingham which I've always wanted to do. Maybe by then I can jog most of it and get to that 45 minute goal.

So, that's it. Sorry it's been so long since I've blogged last but I'm definitely going to try to keep it up. Especially since I've taken a Facebook break to give me some time to concentrate on life and enjoy the little things, not what's going on in everyone else's life...

Enjoy some pictures from the race (proof we really did it):

           (This picture cracks me up because Joseph got his second wind and I love his tongue sticking out.)

                                                        (Bruce about to cross the finish line)

                  (Not pretty but we finished - they had to take my number to track me in photos and for time.)

(Joseph's older brother, Sam, and their dad, Ryan, booking it. Literally, because Sam came in 3rd place in his age category! Way to go, Sam!)