My 5K Snow Day!

    If you had asked me one year ago if I would ever participate in a 5K I would have said, "BaaaaaHaHaHaHeeHeeOhHoHaaaHaHaHa...No. Never. Ain't gonna happen."  If you had asked me one year ago if I would ever participate in a 5K in the freezing cold and snow and ice, I would have completely ignored your stupid question. 

   Guess what I did today.

    It seemed like a good idea on a warm, sunny, breezy, summer day at the church picnic when a few friends convinced me to join in the "fun."  I thought, sure, why not.  I'm all for a fun day with the girls and I could use a little exercise in my life.  I left that day with the intention to start training for my big race.  You can guess how much training I did.  If you said none, you'd be correct.  My excuse....I had no running shoes.  I held on to that excuse until the night before the race, when I finally decided I had no choice but to buy running shoes.  I guess I could have backed out because I was unprepared, but when you make a promise at church, on holy ground, you can't just not follow through with it.  Too much Jesus peer pressure.  

    Approximately one week ago the forecast began showing snow and freezing temperatures for our "big day."  That's when I started to panic.  I'm from Louisiana.  When the temperature drops below freezing we close schools, call in sick for work, and bundle up on our couches and drink from water jugs that we filled the night before because our pipes are frozen.  We don't run 5K's.  I confessed to the girls at lunch today that I prayed for sickness the last two days.  It would have been totally appropriate.  In the last few weeks my boys have been sick twice and the hubs had a virus. 

"Dear God, please give me something mildly debilitating.  Enough to keep me indoors on Saturday yet still have me well for church and running the kids to school.  I know it's my time for sickness and I will gladly accept it.  Amen."

God doesn't always answer our prayers with a yes.  At least he hasn't answered this one yet.  He'll probably do it sometime in the middle of next week.

     So this morning I crawled out of bed, looked out the window, shed a tear, and got dressed.  I put on long johns, sweat pants, running pants, a long sleeve shirt, a short sleeve shirt, a fleece jacket, a winter jacket, a pair of fleece gloves, a "buff", a fleece hat, and my red "Dashing Divas" ball cap and I was ready to take on the cold.  I was determined to show up.  I did not want to be the one who didn't come because it was too cold.  Upon arriving at our designated meeting place, so we could all ride to the race together, I was presented with the news that HALF of our team was not coming.  In that half.....my walking buddies.  The four ladies I was going with had intentions of running.  They had trained.  I had not. 

    I pressed on!  I made the best of it!  I stayed warm during the race!  And shockingly, I actually ran for a little bit at the beginning and at the end of the race!   Why is this shocking?  Because the goal I had set for myself (and I have it in writing to prove it) was to finish and remain breathing.  I had no intentions of pushing myself to the limit, but that's exactly what I did.  Cause I'm good like that.  And what's probably more shocking.....I really enjoyed it!  And even more shocking.....I can't wait to do it again! 

Thank you Cris, Merci, Elissa, & Rebecca for the encouragement!

Go Dashing Divas!