A Day of Accomplishment

The weather was extremely cold. The wind was harsh. Nevertheless, Chris and I rocked the Viking 5K today! We both finished well, achieving our goals for the day. Chris finished his run in 43 min. and 50 sec. He was hoping to finish it in 45 minutes, so he did great! He has worked really, really hard to get where he is now. He started the process to become healthier when his lifestyle was almost completely sedentary. Presently, he works out 6 days a week and has lost 43 lbs! I am so proud of him!

My goal was to complete the race without walking. I wanted to run the whole thing, and I did! After Chris and I finished the race, I felt on top of the world. I had so much fun doing it, too! My run time was about 29 min. and 40 sec. I was really surprised; I think I underestimated myself. I wasn't sure if running would be something I could do well. So, imagine my surprise when I found out from a good friend, Bill, who attended the award ceremony (and who also ran with us) that I won first place in my division! He and his family came over to my in-laws' house (where our family was having breakfast) to give me my medal. I thought that was pretty darn cool. Chris told me how proud he was of me.

Below is a picture of our running crew (from left to right): Paul (a good friend and Chris' running mentor), Bill, Chris, me (Jenn), Steven (my brother-in-law), and Katie (one of Chris' co-workers).

Chris follows a blog called Ben Does Life, written by a guy who's lost at least 120 pounds himself.  Ben likes to point in his pictures, so Chris thought he would do the same thing.

 You might be able to see Bill, Steven, and myself in this picture.

Chris and Paul are in this one. Paul is in the bright orange shirt, and Chris is on his left.

Steven and I running the last leg of the race. What a feeling!

After coming home from the celebration at my in-laws', I played with the kids, got laundry done, cooked a good dinner, and hung out with Chris after putting the kids to bed. Then, we decided to treat ourselves to some chocolate chip cookies. Yum! It really was a treat, because we rarely make or have sweets like that anymore, not even for our children. It was an amazing day.