Hello Hello :) whew it’s been a busy two weeks! I’m drastically behind on my bloggin! I finished up my Runners World Run Streak and boy are my legs tired! Decided what better way to wrap it up than with a 5K on the Fourth of July :)
I’ve been hanging out with my bestie this week :) To give you a little background TC is a transplant from Connecticut. When you mix this southern belle and that semi-yankee together hilarious things ensue. We headed down to the beach Wednesday night after work and I got to ride in her new Fiesta! It is so comfy! It felt so good to know that I didn’t have to go to work the next day :) I love spending time with T because it’s few and far between! Our work lives are so chaotic right now that it’s hard to find a second that we’re both free. Thank goodness for texting or we’d never talk.
We woke up bright and early at 6am Thursday morning to head downtown to run the Firecracker 5000. To make it insanely fun, the whole family (minus Uncle T and Mr. C) ran :) Can you tell me that isn’t some #fitspo right there? How many families do you know are out running on the 4th of July instead of eating :)
My goal was to finish strong and not necessarily fast. My legs were shot after 39 consecutive days of running and I didn’t want to push them to terribly hard. T’s goal was to make it in under 50 mts. Momma C ran it :) She’s 8wks post knee surgery and it was amazing to see a 60yr old woman whoop some tush.
Standing in a pack of 1800 runners was an experience of a lifetime. Add to that the colors, decorations, t-shirts and enthusiasm and you’ve a race like any other I have ever run. Their was a spirit of pride and camaraderie that just tugged at your heart. There were soldiers, veterans, army wives and children running beside me. The start of the race was intense! It took me 2:30 to make it up to the start line. I was dodging elbows, ducking elbows and trying not to hit any potholes. I finally made my way out of the pack to the side and started to work my way up. It was awesome to run past so many spectators cheering us down. Even the police officers were applauding as we ran by. I ran beside a 10 yr old boy with a prosthetic leg and it brought tears to my eyes. He kept pushing and pushing. The moment he crossed the finish line was one I will never forget.
I struggled through this race. It was emotional. I come from a military family and seeing so many other military families always makes me realize how blessed I am to have mine in one piece. I ran with every member of my crazy best friends family at some point during the race. T’s entire family is navy so we represented our military family well :)
I finished the race with a sprint that was almost too intense. I won’t lie, I was so scared I was going to do a face plant because my legs were about as strong as cherry jello. But I saw Mr. C at that corner and he yelled for me to push it. Followed by Momma C (who beat me by 3mts!) yelling in her adorable northern accent to move my tush. *Side Note: Pull your earbuds out at the last part of the race! It’s amazing to hear so many voices cheering you on!!*
T wasn’t far behind me! I was soooo proud of her. She wasn’t to thrilled about waking up on her vacation at the crack of dawn to go run a race, but she was a trooper! (we pacified her with coffee after the race)
All 8 of us finished in under 50 minutes :) Pretty freaking awesome if you ask me! I was a little embarrassed that Momma C beat me by a good three minutes but sometimes moral support for the bestie comes before winning races :) T and I walked the middle together. She was about ready to punch me for being so cheery and encouraging :)
The day was amazing. I couldn’t have planned a more perfect 4th of July. In 20 something years of my life, I think this one takes the cake for Best 4th of July ever!
We finished the day off lying around on the beach. Mr. C and Uncle T cooked us a yummy supper of low country boil. Then we headed down to the marina to watch the fireworks and listen to some music.
So Happy Belated 4th of July My Lovelies!
XOXO ~ Lemon
Adventures with Kat 