Day 815 -- 19:32!

Today, I ran the 4th annual "Goodbye, Yeti!" 5K race in beautiful Parma, Michigan.  The Yeti series of runs ("Hello" in the fall and "Goodbye" in the spring) are put on by the Western Runners Club, which is an auxiliary of the Western Cross-Country and Track and Field teams.  I have run the race every year but one, when I was as large as a whale with AJ.  I had to chuckle, because I wore a tank top and short in last year's race.  Today, I needed my Gore-Tex shoes to contend with the slippery ice/snow/slush, my Northface coat, and my hat and gloves.

But, enough about that.

I crossed the finish line in NINETEEN MINUTES AND THIRTY-TWO SECONDS! WOOT WOOT!

I haven't run a sub-20 5K since I was a junior in high school, and to be honest, I never thought that I would again.  But, since I have been training pretty hard this winter, I had a tickle in the back of my brain that maybe, just maybe, I would be able to break 20 today if I ran my fanny off.

The conditions weren't exactly ideal, but I decided to go for it.  When I was two miles in and running ahead of my goal pace, I knew I had a chance.  So, I went all out the last mile and had the biggest, goofiest grin on my face in the last 100 m when I got to watch the clock ticking in the low 19s all the way in.

After the race, I figured I might as well get the rest of my training in for the day, so I capped off my race with a 5.5 mile cool-down. :)

I'm so excited to be able to say that I ran a 5K in 19:32.  It's cool to see something that you never thought you would be able to do actually happen. I'm grateful for this small victory that God helped me experience this feeling today.

 Thank God for 19:32!

Lord, thank you for giving me the strength and energy to run fast today and for allowing me to feel the sense of accomplishment and excitement that I did because of it.  Thank you for the role running has played in my mental and physical health and for the chance to participate in this event today.  In your name I pray, Amen.

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