Strut Your Stuff

This past Saturday was all about strutting our stuff for our family. My brother-in-law, Tyler, graduated from high school! In addition, my dad and I ran in my first 5k!

Tyler's graduation on Saturday afternoon was a blessed affair. The graduation was so personal for each of the graduates. There was a small picture video with voiceovers from the parents for each kid. It was truly unique and so neat to witness. He will be attending Liberty in the fall and plans to major in business marketing. Jordan and I are really looking forward to have him up in Lynchburg for our last year there. I believe Tyler will absolutely have a blast and love his time spent there. He isn't planning on playing golf yet Jordan insists that he should... we'll see what happens after Tyler's first semester.

Dad and I ran in the SNAP Strut Your Stuff 5k in Euless on Saturday morning. It was to benefit special needs people in north Texas through the organization called SNAP (Special Needs Assistance Partners). I absolutely loved every minute of the race morning. We woke up early, ate part of a breakfast bar, got the dogs in the car, and headed to the park to start the race. We checked in and got our official timers that attach to our shoe laces provided by Run Time.

There was a mile fun run prior to the 5k. The 5k runners were allowed to use the fun run as a warm up for their race so dad took advantage of this race to run with Thunder, the wonder dog! Thunder loves to run so we thought this would be fun for him. We knew he couldn't do the 5k cause when I took him on one of my daily runs he quit at 1.75 miles hence our decision for him to participate in the mile.

Well he did it! He loved it! They came in second behind about a 11 year old little boy. Thunder did get FIRST dog though! They ran it in 7 minutes and 57 seconds. The hilarious part of this story is that right when the hit the home stretch with just less than a quarter mile left, Thunder decided he had to leave a present for the grounds... Dad then had to use the doggy poo poo bags to throw this 'gift' away during the race. Then they sprinted for the finish line!

Thunder was so riled up after his race. He was so excited! He was going up to every person in the park and all the other dogs. He was thrilled! The aftermath of the race surely showed the next morning when dad tried to take Juno and Thunder on a walk as Thunder started running thinking he was in a race again! Too precious!

So next came the big 5k, Dad and I stood near the front and waited for the starting bell and we were off! We  had discussed going out at a 9 min/mile pace but this quickly changed as we completed our first half mile in 3 minutes and 47 seconds... we toned it down at bit through the trail so that we could finish strong. The race was fun and I was loving it. It was great to have Dad by my side encouraging us (more likely me...) to keep on running strong!

We reached the home stretch and I sprinted by guts out... Dad and I ran it in 26 minutes and 27 seconds, which is a 8:30 minute/mile pace. Can't wait for the next race!! Also, a heartfelt thank you to my mom for watching the dogs when dad and I ran. I love you both!!

All of this running and graduating reminds me to be so thankful for our health. There are so many people stricken by disease and disabilities that are unable to participate in athletic events or even not able to graduate from high school. What a blessing God has given us through being healthy. Thank you Lord!