I Finally Won!

 

 

 

As a daughter of a competitive father I love a good run.  Each morning I get up and take our four dogs on a run.  This year I ran my first 1/2 marathon and felt pretty good about my accomplishment, but the dogs still need me to take them on a daily run, so run I did.  Instead of getting better, I got lazier.  Once again I've discovered that I am one that needs a goal, something to accomplish, to put my effort towards.  About two months ago my dad started running each morning with me.  It's been nice to have someone to talk to, stay motivated with, and to have someone help me feed and water the dogs when we were done.

 

  

 

Prior to the run with Opa

I get my competitive spirit from my father, whom I call Opa now that he is a Grandfather to my kids.  I grew up playing basketball, soccer, and tennis and enjoyed being apart of a team.  Since those days the only events I've competed in are running, biking, and triathlons.  One of my life time goals has been to beat my dad at a race.  I always figured this would mean that I've trained hard and he would perhaps have to be in a wheelchair.  But not true, as I've done it.  Although I have to admit that two weeks prior to this race I informed my dad that I didn't desire to run at six a.m. any longer.  It was getting darker and colder each morning, so I figured I'd go a little later and enjoy both light and warmth.  He understood and stopped running daily, ironically I started running harder and found a race to compete in, and then invited him to come with me race day.  Not fair, for sure. 

Starting Out

Here we are at the beginning of the Haven Wooded 5K, I haven't run on pavement in.... years, as I live out in the country on the end of a dirt road.  I find the farm fields to be my favorite, as well, as the trails through the forest.  Trail running is my new passion, so starting and finishing on pavement was a challenge.  This race was fun.  Below is a picture of the mud hole we all had to jump.

The Mud Hole

Me Jumping the Hole

Opa Preparing to Jump the Hole

Opa Clearing the Hole

I could hear Opa yell when he jumped, it made me laugh.  There were lots of fun obstacles, including a wooden wall that we had to get over.   There was also a down hill that was so steep that they put a rope up for us to hold on to.  Being arrogant I didn't think I needed to hold the rope the first time down.  After sliding and almost falling twice I grabbed on tight and was glad that they had put the rope up.  During another rock down hill, I passed many other women that were ahead of me, my trail training paid off.  I finished this race 1st in my age, 3rd woman, 13th over all, and most importantly 1 minute 30 seconds prior to my dad!  (there were only 35 participants, a very small race).

Me Celebrating at the Finish Line