Gusher 5K

I attended my first race in January of 2010 when I went to watch a friend run the Houston marathon. I was blown away by how fun it was to watch people run. I never really thought it was much of a spectator sport, but I was so wrong. As people cheered on strangers by the name on their bib, a smile planted on my face that I couldn't seem to shake. It was then, I started to consider running.

Friday was the biggest test of my life up to this point. It was the HESI. This is the test that, in the past, has determined if you are able to graduate from nursing school. For my class, it didn't serve that purpose specifically, but it was still pretty important to do well. It's kind of good that the test was the day before the race because I was able to balance my anxiety about the race with my anxiety about the test. Needless to say, we completed the incredibly long test and set off for Beaumont to begin our adventure of the Gusher 5K.

Friday night went by so quickly. Bethany and I ate dinner at Joe's Crab Shack (probably not the best pre-race meal) and then settled for the night at the MCM Elegante. I was kind of stressed out because we heard there were going to be thousands of people and not a lot of places to park. We also knew that the road we planned on using to get there was going to be closed at 4 a.m. for the race. Luckily my sweet friend Heather decided to run with us and offered to drive since she knew the area.

We woke up at 5 a.m. Saturday to start the festivities. We were  both tired, but really excited. Here are some sleepy pictures of the morning right after we pinned on our first bibs:

Let me just say that the excitement never ended from this point on. We started the race with both hands in the air celebrating our accomplishment. My friend Heather ran with us, and she hadn't been training. She did an amazing job and stuck with us the entire time! Throughout the race, the camaraderie was my favorite part. Other runners were constantly cheering us on, and we got to cheer on some other runners. There was a precious little girl who was my favorite. We got to give her encouragement as she told her daddy she was so tired. It was such a precious site to see her daddy helping her run her first 5K.

When we rounded the last corner where we could see all of the people on the side of the finish line, both of our bodies were covered in chills. It was one of the coolest feelings I've ever experienced. We looked up to see Laurel, who zoomed past us earlier, cheering us on from the finish line along with all of our friends and family who came for support. Bethany and I sprinted our way across the finish line with the biggest smiles on our face. Yes, yes we did just finish our first 5K. For me, the first of many. Running is one of the funnest things I've ever done. I can't wait to continue the journey. Thanks for taking time to read about this journey and even more for the awesome support you've offered. I'm adding a few more pictures that I had on my camera from the day. If you'd like to see more pictures click here. Enjoy!

These are the shirts we made for the race.

Lots of people said, "Next year those shirts will say 'My First Half'". I really love runners.

Our "strong" poses after we finished the race,

Our sign that my sweet best friend made to cheer us on.