Running for Boston

2 weeks ago, there was a bombing at the finish line of the Bostom Marathon. It was almost like something out of a movie at first - there was a stand off and the city of Boston was on lock down for almost an entire day while they searched for the accused gunmen. But they caught the guys, so we're good there :)

A lot of people were injured from the bombs though. I have heard that it was only bystanders, and I've heard a few runners were affected. I've heard only a few died with smaller injuries to the rest, and I've heard that there was extensive injuries to almost everyone - like limbs being amputated. Either way, it's been horrible to hear about and think about.

To be a runner, and THAT good of a runner that you qualify for the Boston Marathon, and then lose a limb? That'd be devastating. And I've been reading on a lot of my "fitness friends" blogs about runs they have done and dedicated to those affected. And I just thought that was AWESOME! And then I saw that Eagle Mountain was sponsoring a 5K, and all the money goes to the Boston families, and I KNEW I wanted to do it!

I posted it on Facebook to see who wanted to do it with me, and my mom was all over it! I was SO excited that she did it with me!!

We met at my house and then drove over together. My mom suggested we wear Boston Celtics shirts - what an AWESOME idea right?! It was at Nolan Park in Eagle Mountain. After my mom paid our registration fees {thanks mom!} we walked around and waited for the race to start. And then we noticed this guy.

Yeah he ran the Boston Marathon. He was at mile 24 when the bomb went off. He had no idea what had happened until his wife called him in a panic. He didn't end up getting to cross the finish line because they shut the road down. To be THAT close to crossing the finish line at the BOSTON MARATHON would just suck!! But he had a good attitude about it - no harm came to HIM so he was ok with it. Good attitude Dan!

My mom pre race

Me :)

This shirt is 3 or 4 sizes too big for me - that's why I wanted to wear it. Despite the few pounds that I have put back on that I wasn't happy with, I still am WAY too small for this shirt. Gave me some good perspective 

Another view of just how big it is

The 2 of us pre race

Right before the race started, they had a little program. The boy scouts presented the flag...

We all said "The Pledge of Allegiance" and then a runner sang "The Star Spangled Banner".

And then my parents neighbor Aaron Asay played "Amazing Grace" on the bag pipes. Uh tear jerker much?!

After everyone regained their composure, they had the runners from the Boston Marathon line up at the finish line to start us out. That was SOO cool - I am SO glad they did that! There were 4 runners there with us.

And then, my energy just took over. I haven't had adrenaline like that before a run - like ever. I was SO ready to do it - to dedicate this run to people who couldn't run for themselves. My phone was SO close to dying - I was way worried that it might not make it through the run, but it did! My first song that came on was "Lose Yourself" from Eminem. Uh yeah - good song to start out!

About a mile or so into the run, we found our fan base! Rick, Jeannene & Buzz were waiting for us!!

Then I just HAD to get a running shot of us!

We finished the race in just under 40 minutes. Not a PR for me, but we wanted to race together so I decided not to worry about my time and just have fun. And burn like 450 calories in the process haha!

After we finished!

We found Dan after the race and asked if we could get a picture with him. Seriously - SO inspirational that he was there!!

Side note - the fact that my sleeves fell down {or something} makes me look like a BLIMP - I am NOT loving this picture haha

I had a girls night planned that night and chose to do the race AND girls night. That means I ate a healthy dinner on my own, and got a workout in {since I overslept that morning}. What an AWESOME way to start my weekend!

And I am so proud of the difference in those two pictures. Of what that shirt means to me. That I CHOSE to run a 5K. The day of. And didn't die. That I can do things like that on a whim. It's a REALLY cool feeling! :)