Hurricane 5K

This weekend was the Hurricane 5K and 1/2 marathon. My friend Alecia was running in the 1/2 marathon so we made plans to go down and support her. My friend Mindy and I were going to run the 5K version of the race and my friend Leslie Groft was going to run the 1/2 marathon with Alecia to help her through it. Mindy ended up not being able to come at the last minute but the other 3 of us went.



It was great weather and a fun trip. We went down the night before and had dinner @ the Texas Roadhouse (yum!) Then we stayed in Hurricane so we could get up early for the race (the buses loaded @ 5:30 am! I ran my race slower than I had hoped (35:40) but I need to remember progress and not perfection. I'm working on it...Then I waited for Alecia and Leslie to run in. It was fun to see some other friends running, see Mindy and her family come to support Alecia @ the end of the race, and feel the energy of the runners and supporters.



Up to the time the race was going to happen I've been thinking about running and where I've come since I started this journey in January. I was actually sad that I wasn't running the 1/2 with the girls. I think it was mostly because of the friendship and experience that I was missing out on. It was a bummer to wait on my own....which is funny because that isn't how I have always felt....Anyway - I got thinking about running. Sure, I was disappointed in my time of the race - but I ran another 5K! If you had told me 6 months ago that I was going to be running on a regular basis - further than a mile - I would have thought you were nuts. But now I'm enjoying it - sometimes even loving it. I have competed in 3 5K races and a 10K! WOW! :)



After the race I got really thinking about "what next?". Do I do a 1/2 marathon, or try for something else? I have decided that I'm going to try to do the Sprint Triathlon in the Utah Summer Games this summer. Last week I got thinking about it actually - and was going to work on getting ready to do it NEXT summer. But after this weekend I got thinking more about it and I think I want to try for it in June.



This is a big deal - a scary deal for me. But at the same time making that decision is empowering and SO exciting. Trying something different, stretching myself, pushing myself, and working towards something that I know will excite Cory and make him proud of me (he's been wanting me to do triathlons with him for almost 10 years now). It feels so great to believe in myself about something like this. In fact, I should asleep right now - but I've been thinking about it and I have excited butterflies.



Anyway - here are some of our pictures from this weekend. I am SO proud of my friend Alecia. I'm blessed to have been going on this "Transformation" journey with friends like her. I'm so proud fo her example and for the drive I watched her have for this race. My heart just swelled with pride when she crossed the finish line. It was also amazing to watch Leslie running with her. Leslie was in major physical pain but did the race for Alecia. I was so touched by her friendship and willingness to sacrafice for a friend. I watched her love for her friends and it touched me! I'm so blessed to have great friends - love them.