Stars and Stripes

5Ks.
I'm not much of a runner.
Although I really, really try to be.
And I really want to be.
But I have old lady legs that ache when I run.
Something is always hurting.
And, let's be honest, my legs have a lot of weight to carry.

But I LOVE to run 5Ks.
Maybe it's because I love to race.
Maybe it's because I like to waste money.
Who knows.

This year has been super awesome because lots of my friends are running them too.
Normally we just talk about doing them, but never sign up.
Also, my sister has discovered a love for running.
And we won't even talk about how she beats me every time.
And Alex has decided she likes to run them too.
Which I LOVE, but dang, why aren't kids cheaper to sign up??

This past weekend, we did the Stars and Stripes 5K.

When we originally signed up, I thought we were going to die.
Memphis in July is no joke.
But it ended up being not that hot.

Kate and FH weren't running so Kate made us some signs.

Alex was so nervous!
This was her first "real" 5K.
Her previous 5K had basically nobody running and
this 5K had about 1,200 people running....
so yeah, it was a bit different.

We ran together the whole time.
At first, I was worried about my time.
I wanted to have a good time.
And then, I realized that we weren't in the greatest part of town.
And that running with her was worth much more than a good time.

She did great.
We had to walk several times.
And a few times, I honestly thought she might quit.
Her legs hurt, her stomach hurt. She couldn't breathe.
But I cheered for her the whole way.
And tried my hand at motivational speaking.

And just when she said she couldn't go any longer,
I looked over and there was a guy running with one leg.
And I told her if he could do it, she could.

When we could finally see the finish line, I told her we had to finish strong.
So we ran, or really jogged.
We even ran holding hands at one point.
Right at the end, she looked over at me, grinned a real big sneaky grin,
and took off sprinting.
Of course, I was trapped behind 2 old ladies and had to dodge them.
She beat me by 4 seconds...that little stinker, I couldn't believe it.
But I also couldn't have been more proud.

My time wasn't great.
I hated not going as hard as I could.
But I got to hang out with my daughter.
And bond over a love for racing.
I wouldn't have had it any other way.

But next time, I'm leaving her before she can beat me. :)

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