Runner #2397

I did it! I did it! I did it!!

Yesterday not only did I check something off my Bucket List, I fulfilled a dream of mine and saw three months of hard work pay off.

I ran my first 5k!!



I set three goals for my first 5k...

Goal #1 - Finish. And I did!!

Goal #2 - Run the WHOLE thing. And I did! Now...I could have walked it faster than I ran it but the point is I didn't walk.

Goal #3 - Finish in under 45 minutes. And I did!!

Before the race (with my littler motivator):



Right before the finish line when I saw my family:



That beautiful finish line:




When I think about how far I've come since April 6th I can't even WAIT to see what I can do in the next three months. I carried 37 less pounds over the finish line with me on Sunday! THIRTY SEVEN!! I am three pounds away from losing Lauren! That's just CRAZY!

Last night Dustin and were laying in bed and he asked me what my favorite part of the race was, thinking I was going to tell him it was crossing the finish line.

But that wasn't the best part of yesterday....it was when I was about three blocks away from the finish line - when I saw my family on the corner. I saw my husband and I raised both my arms up in victory and from two blocks away he came out in the middle of the road and raised both his arms up, too. I wish I could have frozen that moment because it was absolutely amazing! It makes me cry just thinking about it.

I saw my son clapping his little hands off and Lauren screaming, "Mommy!" My in-laws, my brother and my training buddies were all there and the sense of accomplishment was overwhelming. Three months ago I struggled running 60 seconds...yesterday I ran just about 45 minutes.

I have given birth to three amazing children, I have graduated from college, I have done a lot of things in my life that I have been proud of...but yesterday was priceless.

It's been over 24 hours later and I'm STILL on a runner's high. ;-)

Now on to the next one!