So, I continue to neglect my blog. Rarely getting out a camera. And then if I finally think about doing a blog entry so many things have come and gone and it seems odd to overlook big things like photos from our new house and do something trivial, such as a blog on a package that came in the mail. But that is what is current, so I am going to try and keep us up to date. We may back track later, but today's entry is hot off the press.
Olivia and I signed up to run the Dream in Color 5K put on by the Doyle Community Center in Sturgis. It's one of those races that you get blasted with color throughout the race. It was meant to be a fun race, so it went untimed. I thought this was perfect being Olivia's first 5K and as much as she'd like to think she's a runner, she's not. The same goes for me. Yes, I've done a few 5Ks and a triathlon, but I'm just not cut out to be a runner. I haven't been to the gym in over six months, and done no running in that time either. I was happy Olivia was with me. It would give us some fun bonding time, plus she gave me an excuse to slow it down and maybe need to walk every now and then.
pre race picture
We started out strong, and then I noticed Olivia huffing and puffing quite a bit. I started realizing how much shorter her little legs were than my stubby legs and continued to encourage her on. It wasn't too long before we got blasted with our first color station. That gave her a little boost and we continued on. I kept on with my words of encouragement, and was truly proud at how she kept running and didn't even ask to walk or slow down. Around the first mile mark, my shoe came untied. It was slowing me down (or that could have been caused by me being out of shape, but we'll blame it on the shoe) so I decided to stop to tie it. Olivia was pulling away from me at this time and looked back. I waved her on and said keep going, to which she did. I could see her up ahead of me for most of the rest of the race. Sometimes she even was out of sight. I am used to hitting a wall in running, then barreling through it until I get my second wind. The walls kept coming today, but the second winds were short lived little gusts that dissipated about five seconds after their arrival.
Olivia upon completion of her first 5K!
I wanted to stop and walk numerous times, but kept reminding myself, my little girl is up ahead of me. I can't walk now. Then I remembered also that my fast walking pace is quicker than my lethargic jogging pace, but I kept the jog up the entire time. I knew at this point Olivia was going to finish up ahead without me, and that thrilled me and filled me with pride. At the same time, I wanted her to know her mommy didn't quit and start walking so my stubby legs kept up their slow jogging pace.
We did it!
As I rounded the corner and could see the finish line up ahead a few hundred yards, I saw this petite little girl with black pants and a shorter hair do crossing the finish line. I'm so glad I was able to see her finish. It motivated me at that time to pick up my pace. For the last fifty yards or so, I had a good sprint (well, good for me) going. It took me a moment or so to find Olivia with Andy and Mia through the clouds of colored chalk and mass of runners, volunteers, and spectators, but I did. Olivia had a terrific time and overly surprised both Andy and me. I guess I can't say she's not a runner any more. I'm glad she proved us wrong. Although the race was untimed, Andy said Olivia finished in about 34 minutes which we think is terrific! That had to be a record for me as well.
It was a blast of an event, that I'm sure we'll do again. Both Olivia and I had many friends that ran in it as well that added to the fun. Happy running and remember to dream in color!
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