5K Is Finished!!!!

Good Morning everyone!!!! I am proud to announce....I finished the 5K race on Saturday!!!! Click here (it's at the very bottom of that post) for the whole story of how this 5K journey began.

What a wonderful weekend I had with my beautiful daughters. We had a fun/active filled weekend!!!! It all started on Friday, my daughter Kara drove here to Rapids and that night we got busy preparing lasagna, veggies and 7-layer bars to bring to Alyssa's for the big weekend. The race started at 10am on Saturday, so we were up at 4am and hit the road to head for Alyssa's apartment in La Crosse. When we got there, there was not much time to waste. We walked down to the river where the starting line was waiting for us.

First off when we got to Alyssa's apartment, she had our race packets waiting for us. In our packets she had tucked away in them cards she had made for us. Here is mine.....As far as I was concerned getting this card was my prize.....how precious, and I will cherish it forever!!!!!

Here are Kara and I just before running our 5K race.

Kara and Alyssa while we waited to start the race.

Me getting ready to line up with my ipod in hand.

Through out the course, we never knew where we would be getting our picture taken...Alyssa was on her bike following us with her camera...she was so happy so see her mom and sister running and she wanted to make sure she had plenty of pictures of the event:)

Kara during her race....she is the one in the hat.....lookin good!!!!

Kara about 2 miles into the run

Kara is the one in the hat running her last stretch toward the finish line!!!!

Kara racing toward the finish line.

Kara ready to cross the finish line.....YOU GO GIRL!!!!

Here I am around mile 2, still up right at least!!!!!

She got me in mid-stride here.

Heading toward the finish line!!!!!!

I am almost to the finish line here!!!!!

Just before I crossed the finish line...see the clock in the distance!!!!!

Kara and I after the race was done, we were even smiling....WE DID IT!!!!
Kara's time was 34 minutes...this is Kara's 2nd 5K and she beat her last time by 4 minutes....I was sooo proud of her!!!!!
My time was 38 minutes, I was just glad I finished!!!!

Resting after the race with our bottled water

My two beauties!!!! I love my girls soooooooo much and am SOOOOO proud of both of them!!!!!

The 3 of us after a fun day of racing.

After the race, we went to the Olive Garden for soup and salad and then it was off to TJ Maxx for a little shopping. My girls pitched in together and insisted they buy me this "Kathy Van Zeeland" purse as a reward for racing....I told them NO WAY!!!!...but they were very persistent!!!!!! Thank you girls for this awesome purse....I LOVE IT!!!!! And I want to thank Jesus, my Lord and Savior, for BLESSING me with the honor of being the Mother of these two AWESOME daughters!!!!! They are truly the reward of my life!!!!!

**********************************

Alyssa's 26.2 mile Marathon the next day

The next day, Alyssa had her first 26.2 Marathon to run. She was so nervous but very determined!!!!! She has been training like a wild woman for this event!!!!!

Leaving for the Marathon at the crack of dawn.

Kara and I were there at the 14 mile marker to cheer her on, (she is the one in the blue). She is over half way finished here....Go Liddy Go!!!!

We were there at the finish line waiting for her.....here she is running the last stretch.

Almost there!!!!!

Just before she crossed the finish line.

I was SOOOOO proud of her...she is now an official Marathon runner!!!!!!

Alyssa and Kara after Alyssa's race....Alyssa looks pretty good for just running 26.2 miles wouldn't you say....and Kara looks pretty good for spending the night in a college apartment building and not getting much sleep lol....Kara and I are NOT used to the college life atmosphere, that's for sure!!!!

So that's it...the Christmas presents have been fully received. Thank you Alyssa for this awesome gift even if at first I was HORRIFIED. You not only got me thinking about training for this race, you also inspired me to push towards being fit and active. Because of this, it inspired me to lose these extra pounds so I can be all I can be at this stage of my life. Thank you Sweetie, I will always cherish this gift and it will keep on giving as I continue on this journey!!!!

I am still going strong on my Nutrisystem and have set some goals that I will blog about soon. Have a BLESSED day everyone.....Rhonda