The Day Started Out With This

Amy and I ran a 5K for Zion's Children of Haiti. It was quite a small event, but it was fairly well-organized. It was held at Sugar House Park, which is a lovely venue (except for the nasty bathrooms!). We had to do 2 laps around the park. That was hard. But Amy got me through it, and I helped her, too. We're a pretty good team.

We stayed for the raffle, and we didn't win anything. But that's OK because we were having fun together.

Biggest part of this portion of the day: We are going to try to do a sprint triathlon together (hopefully with Ashtyn and Breezy, too)!

P.S. Do I love running? No, I do not. But it is fun to do something active with other people like Amy and Spencer and Bob and Stacy and Dan and MaryKay and Suzie and Phil and Kayla and others. Running hurts my muscles and it makes my heart beat fast and sometimes I get sunburned. But when it's done it makes me feel really cool and capable and generally awesome.

P.P.S. Anybody wanna join us for a sprint tri?

5K!

Before the race.

During the race.

After the race.

It was raining pretty good when we got to the park to start. It stayed cool through the entire race, but the rain didn't start again till just after we'd crossed the finish line.

I was surprised by how emotional I felt when I finished. We ran at the back of the pack, but I set a personal best time. My official time was 36 minutes and something. According to Spencer's Garmin it was a bit less than that, and I averaged about 11:30 miles.

(The kids were still asleep when we got home.) :)

Why I Am Going to Run a 5K

1. To get fit. Having a goal helps me get out the door to exercise every day.

2. Because Spencer can help me. I don't want to spend a lot of time researching an activity in order to get the most benefit, have the most fun, or stay away from injuries. Having a personal trainer (who has done all of that stuff) is my way of succeeding while STILL cutting corners. I'm just that kinda girl.

3. Because Spencer and I can do it together. My running is not as great or as fast or as strong as his, but we are together.

4. Because I can. This sounds like that old "Why Climb Mount Everest?" thing. But the truth is that nearly 15 years ago I was diagnosed with MS. At that time I seriously wondered what my quality of life would be when I was 40. I feel that every day is a gift (even though I don't always recognize them as such). So I'm going to take full advantage of the gift of my health for as long as I can.

5. Everyone is doing it. (I just had to throw that one in there.)

6. To lose weight. This is just the cherry on top. *See #1 above

See you in West Jordan on August 15!