Run, Lindgrens, Run!

A little over a month ago, I was talking to Steve and mentioned that I thought it would great if we did a race event together as a family. I really needed to get him on board because I figured the girls would say "yes" if both of their parents were going to do it. Plus, I thought we, as parents, should try to model healthy habits for our kids. When we brought the idea up to the girls, they were excited. I found an event about 35 miles away, in Henning, MN which had a 1 Mile run for the girls as well as a 5K for my hubby & I to run in on July 17th.

Steve & the girls began running a couple times a week for about 4 weeks to get ready. The girls did between 1 and 1 1/2 miles each time, while Steve worked his way up to a 5K. Initially, the girls didn't want to run with me, but I promised that I would just go whatever pace they set, so when they finally let me go with them a couple of times, it made me so darn emotional I almost cried! I just love running so much, my secret wish is for them to join me, but don't tell them that.

There were some bumps along the way when the excitement wore off and the girls didn't want to practice some mornings, but all in all, we were able to pull together and got ready for the event. Saturday morning, it was difficult to get everyone up and going by 7:15 AM so we could get to the event on time. Summer hours have definitely settled in, and it certainly doesn't involve early mornings AT.ALL.

Nerves were in high gear for me, but the rest of the family was pretty relaxed. I think I should point out this is only the 2nd 5K I have participated in, so not like I am a pro & nerves are par for the course for me. It was Steve's 1st 5K, although we did do a Sprint Triathlon together 2 years ago, which ended with a 5K. Abby & Kippy were doing their first 1 mile event.

The weather was warm by 8:30 AM when the events started. Unfortunately, both events were starting at different locations and at the same time, so I didn't get to watch either of my daughters cross the finish-line, which was disappointing. I hadn't really thought out the logistics of the event until that morning. So, the girls were done first and stayed together to cheer for me and give me water when I crossed and all three of us did the same for Steve when he finished.

Kippy ended up 1st in the under 10 year old female category with a 11:01 time.

Abby got 4th overall for the girls and also 4th in her 11-15 year category with a 8:38 time.

Steve was happy to finish because he said he started out his first mile too fast and struggled the rest of the way. He had a very respectable 31:49 time. Especially since it was over 80 degrees during the race and he was more of a reluctant participant.
The event t-shirts we received were nice, I just wish I would have taken a picture of all of us wearing them. We also each got a lunch bag, water bottle and travel-type medical kit, so I have to give a huge shout out to the people who put the race bags together... SWEET!
I love the saying on the back of the shirt the most... "The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start."

I didn't set out to have this happen, but I did get a PR (Personal Record) with a time of 22:56 and took 2nd in the women's 40-49 category. I got a nice metal to commemorate the event.
The real focus for me was participating in the event as a family. Although it wasn't like we held hands and sang Kumbaya while crossing the line together. It was about the shared race experience, even though we each experienced the event as individuals. The AMAZING part is both of the girls were talking about "next time" on the way back to Fergus Falls, so I hope we can make an annual event of participating as a family in a race event.

Link to race results. A family that runs together, has fun together!?!