The Purple Door: April 22, 2012

Madi and I ran our first 5K - The Bell County Bar Association Paralegals 5k Trail Run -together on Saturday, April 14th. We met up with some longtime friends, Vanessa, Tony, and Mona, who also took part in this fun charity run.

Here's our group: Madi, Me, Nessa, Tony and Mona.

This was my third 5K run for a cause, but it was Madi’s very first. So, needless to say, when she signed up for this challenge, I was super proud of her courage and determination. THEN, when she PLACED 3^rd {I’ll get to that in a minute} in her age group, this Momma was overwhelmed with pride! Her Dad was pretty proud too, of course!

Our group started the race in the back of the crowd of runners/walkers. I think there were a handful of ladies behind us when the starting whistle blew.

Personally, I like to start off in the back because 1) I start off pretty slow and build up my pace little by little and 2) because I like to pass people. As I pass them, I get a little bit of a rush to continue on forward to pass the next person. I’m very competitive and so putting people behind me is what gets me through.

Jack took this picture while he was waiting on us to come back around to the finish.

Madi and I stuck together, side by side, for the first two miles. Then, because I tend to go a little faster around the second mile, I had to go on ahead of her {after making sure with her that it was okay} in order to get into a comfortable run for myself. I think she needed me to go on ahead anyway; later she said I was “talking too much”! LOL - She likes to get into a zone and doesn't like for me or her Dad to talk to her during our runs. I usually respect that, but I just wanted to keep encouraging her since it was her first competitive run! I pointed out neat things like a hawk, the brilliantly blue sky and the pretty flowers to try and keep her mind off the actual running. But, it wasn’t working, I was only messin' with that zone of hers and ultimately it helped her that I went on ahead.

Here I come, in the orange,up the final, dreadful hill. I was so mad because I couldn't catch up to the couple in front of me. Ugh. Well, they weren't in my age group anyway - they were 10 years younger than me. I guess that should make me feel better, but it doesn't!

I could her Jack cheering me on and I could see in his face how proud he was of me.

I finished the 5k at my slowest time ever for a race (34.17), but by some miracle, I still placed 3^rd in my age group! I was thrilled that I placed, but I was not thrilled with my time.

Once I was finished, I walked back a little ways to cheer on Madi and the rest of the group as they came up that final hill. Within minutes Madi came charging up it!!

I cannot tell you the pride I felt as I watched her run up that hill - she was so determined and focused! It was a moment I will never forget! Never. I jogged alongside her (as you can see - over on the left) for a minute, just yelling like a mad woman “GO MADI!” “YOU GO THIS!” “COME ON, BABY!!” “ALIGHT, ALIGHT, ALIGHT – LET’S GO, LET’S GO!” I’m never ashamed of cheering her on – I’m always (maybe to the annoyance of some) vocally supportive (aka - loud) and always very, very proud, of her no matter what because she's my girl!

Madi-girl is a BEAST!!

Madi did so awesome, that she came in 3rd in her age group! Woot! Way to go, Madison! You did awesome kid!

Next came Tony, looking strong up that final hill...

He has some bad knee issues that he's been dealing with – I have no doubt that he would’ve finished this race waaaay sooner - way ahead of me! He's a pro at these 5k's!

Next up the hill was Nessa!

I love that after 3.1 miles, this wonderful lady is SMILING! She's pretty amazing like that!

She even did a little shuffle dance on her way through the finish! Jack, Madi and I were laughing and cheering at the same time. :)

Here comes Tony and Mona. After Tony finished his run, he turned right back around and jogged back to find Nessa and Mona. What a good guy, huh?! Nessa was doing alright when he reached her, so she asked him to keep running back to find Mona; which he did.

Mona's almost at the finish!

The amazing thing about Mona is that this is not only her first ever 5K, but it's her FIRST time really running!! She's not a runner. She walks for exercise and has recently lost quite a bit of weight in doing so. But, not until this day has she really run! So what she did on this day is something truly inspiring!

Mona crossing the finish line as Nessa does a victory cheer for one of her bestfriends! What a great moment!

Nessa and Mona after the race.

Madi and me after the race.

All the girls after the run.

Shy ol' Madi getting her 3rd place ribbon! YAY Madi - You should be so proud of yourself!

Our beautiful sweet child! 3rd place in her first 5K!

Getting my 3rd place ribbon!

I laugh when I look at this picture - I look like such a dork, giddy with my little 3rd place ribbon!

Me and my almost-as-big-as-me yougin' rockin' our 3rd place ribbons!

And this - this is my very favorite picture of the day - possibly my very favorite photo ever! Nessa took this photo and turned it into something too amazing for words! I cried when I saw it - I love it dearly and will forever treasure it!!

I'm so glad to have this memory! I can remember, back when I first signed up for this 5K, writing on Facebook about how excited I was that Madi and I were going to do it together. I just knew we would have a good time and would make some awesome memories while doing it. There are times when I wish Madi was still a baby or younger - because it seems as if she's growing up way, way too fast. But, there are also times (like during this race) that I am happy she is old enough (and that I am young enough - for now) to enjoy stuff like this together! As I had hoped, we did build some pretty awesome memories together as well as with friends, and that makes me very happy!