Diva Dash 2013

This year the running of the Diva Dash was special. Not only did two of my daughters participate but my sister-in-law, Pam did as well!  It was her first "race" of any kind.  She started walking back in November on a quest for better health and in the process I think became addicted to walking.  She manages to walk about every day even through the cold and snowy winter months.  But the best part is that she walks inside her house doing multiple laps around her living room, kitchen, and family room.  In the process she has lost over 33 pounds and she isn't stopping there! Besides exercising, she has changed her diet to include healthier versions of her favorite meals.  It helps that she is an excellent cook, so she can substitute ingredients and make it edible.  Me, not so much. I wasn't born with that talent.  The morning of the race we met up with her in the parking lot where the race was to start.  My girls hadn't seen her in a while so when she walked toward us they didn't recognize her at first.  She looks great!  She had on running pants and a coordinating running shirt with shoes to match.  We decided to dress in shades of pink in honor of this being a race for women only with proceeds going to the National Osteoporosis Foundation. 

The race was a little less organized than in the past.  We weren't even to the start before the race started.  So our official time according to the clock was 2 minutes slower than the time on my Garmin.  We were shooting to finish the race in less than an hour, and we did! The time on my watch was 54:16! We walked the entire 5K and stopped to get drinks at the two water stops along the way.  The course winds its way through older tree-lined neighborhoods that offered a relief from the sun.  Pam had several friends that were walking the race as well.  We started out with them and then left them shortly after that.  With just a quarter of a mile to go, we saw some inspirational words written on the sidewalk with chalk. We also saw, Kym and Brooke as we rounded the corner to the finish.  They finished earlier in under 30 minutes and came back to walk in with us.  It was a proud moment for all of us when Pam crossed the finish line of her first 5K!  We celebrated with a healthy breakfast at Bob Evan's.  But most of all, I enjoyed spending time with Pam and just catching up but doing something good for our bodies at the same time.  Hopefully there is another 5K in her future!