10K: Mission Accomplished

I did it! I ran my first 10K race today!! That's 10,000 meters - or 6.2 miles. It was sooo much fun and God blessed me with a knee and leg that held up under pressure. :) The boys ran too...a 1K for Ethan and a 1/2K for Brenden and Sarah. Therefore, the big blog on this topic will be over at our sister station "Three's Company."

I do wish I would have ran a little faster...I was trying to maintain a pace that I thought would leave me with enough energy on the second loop...but I had too much energy! It was great! I finished something like 415th with a time of 57 minutes and 12 seconds. I think it was 12...it was either 12 or 16. I ran fast the last three feet to beat this old man who was trying to beat me - it was hysterical. He patted me on the back and gave me a high five. Next race I will try to keep a faster pace I think.

Before the race, I wished I had gum so I asked a man who was chewing some if he had any more. He ran to his car to get me some. How nice! Then he talked to me for a minute right before it began. He wished me luck and I did the same. My fan club set up shop on the corner next to Starbucks....Mom, Grandma Doris, Kellie, Ethan, Brenden, Sarah and Ryan. I ran by them 4 times and every time they were cheering as loudly as possible. It was awesome!! I waved to them and blew them kisses. After the race, I wandered back toward Starbucks to find my family and I passed the nice gum man again. He asked how it went and I told him it was great and told him my time. He said I did awesome! :) He did the race in 45 minutes. That's 12 minutes faster than me folks!

It was a totally wonderful experience and a beautiful, wonderful day. I will post pics in the next day or two and write more here as well as on Three's Company. The boys ran their races so well and made me so proud!!

Where running takes me.

For me, running started as a way to get in shape. Then, at some point along the way, I started to actually enjoy it. Now, I can't imagine not doing it. While running, I sometimes just sing to myself. Sometimes my mind wanders and I think about men, or work, or movies. Sometimes the only thing I can do is to repeat to myself that I am almost done...and to keep going. Sometimes I think about God. The other day, I was doing my own little Jog-for-God. Is that weird? Anyway, there I was, running up a hill, when I said "Oh God please help me get up this hill!" So then I wondered, is it ok to dedicate a challenging run to God, and then turn around and ask Him to help you do it? hehe :)

It must not have been that bad because He helped me up. And here's what I made it to: