Wooohooo!

Well, I did it! Actually, we did it. Vince helped so much when he decided to run with me today. It was my first 5K and it was a doozy! One of the first things we did was run up this gigantic hill. I'm not exaggerating here. A lot of people walked the hill and then started running. I am so very proud to report that we ran the entire thing! Of course, at the pace we were going, there were people walking who were keeping up with us, but that's okay. I ran. We started off very slowly just to be sure not to hurt ourselves in all the excitement. There was a small group of women, one of whom was very pregnant that passed us at first. I was a little embarrassed. But we ended up passing them on the hill and staying in front of them the rest of the way, so I feel better. We ended downtown at the Dublin Square Pub and had our celebratory beer, then left to go pick up the kids. We picked up a pizza on the way home too. We decided to walk from the pub to our car to cool down and stretch our legs a little. That was a pretty long walk! Anyway, we made it and could not have been happier. Poor Vince had to slow his pace WAY down to stay with me, but he didn't seem to mind. He was so awesome during the whole thing. There was another girl that ran most of the way with us. I met her in sewing class and we noticed each other at the starting line. She thought our pace was good and that Vince was a great motivator, so she stayed with us while her mom walked ahead of us. Yes, her mother walked faster than we ran. We finished in about 38 minutes, which is a good time for me, especially with that hill. When we got home, after I got the kids from next door--thanks Jim and Sherri!-and ate some lunch, we crashed hard. I could feel myself getting droopier and droopier by the minute. I guess when the adrenaline wore off, it was curtains for me! Vince, you are the wind beneath my wings-love you!! (Cue the music)

Also, I have to give a shout out to a lovely lady named Pam for being such a sweetheart! My little Scottish friend, you don't even know how much seeing your smiling face this morning before and after the race meant to me. She was there with a high-five and a big hug at the finish line. I love the encouraging advice given in that fabulous brogue!

Of course, there were tears. Since you all know that I'm a big bawl-baby I don't mind telling you that. And I did make a fool of myself at the end. At the finish line, they wanted us to make a single-file line and give them the bottom portion of our bib. Well, I was a little confused which way to go and the guy stuck his hand out to show me. I thought he was just giving me a high-five! I was like, "Yeah" and smacked his hand! Then he shouted (to be heard over the masses) for me to keep going to the right. Oh! Duh. I felt like a dork. Oh, well. I am a dork. Probably no one noticed but me. I hope.

So, on to the next one!