Live strong challenge

On Saturday morning we ran in the Live Strong Challenge, a 5k run held in Austin and put on by the Lance Armstrong Foundation. The event was one of four Live Strong Challenges held across the country over the last few months. Thank you to those who gave donations for the cause. They are very appreciated!

Our friends James and Courtney came with us to Austin. Courtney and I drove down to Austin (about five hours) on Friday afternoon, while Matt and James flew a T-37 over (about one hour). It was good though, because Courtney and I just chatted the whole time. We also got the hotel rooms paid for by the Air Force (because it counted as training time for Matt and James), which was a nice perk.

The run on Saturday was awesome. We had to get up bright and early to get parking. We thought it would be packed with the thousands of extra people in town, but it was pretty easy. The run started and ended at the state capitol downtown. There were all kinds of vendors handing out free foods, drinks, and give-aways before, during and after the race.

All the runners and walkers (Courtney and James opted to walk since she is carrying a little one) crowded the street at the start line. A woman with a beautiful voice sang the national anthem. I cried, thinking of Dad, missing him, but also knowing how happy he would be for us to be running for him. He would be thrilled that the benefits from this race may mean even one less person won't have to experience what he did.

I reminisced to my days in middle school track when Dad would come watch my meets by the fence. Dad never wanted to pay to get in, of course, because there was a decent and free view from the fence by the bleachers:) He would call me "Track Star" with that goofy sound in his voice that told you he felt like busting into air guitar mode at any minute. He would have called us track stars on Saturday. We really enjoyed the run and did pretty well. We certainly didn't sprint and aren't the fastest people ever, but we were content with our 32:36 time. My goal was to finish happy and without stopping somewhere between 30 and 36 minutes. We definitely did, and it was really exciting to run so hard that last 100m or so that I thought either my lungs would collapse or I would puke. Brian would say that means we could have given more during the race, and he's probably right. Next year, Bri. Yummy pumpkin muffins and strange guava smoothies welcomed us at the end.

Kreutz Photography took pictures of the race, which should be on their website soon, www.kreutzphotography.com. You should be able to look them up by our BIB numbers (4494 and 4495) and last name.

We also got to hang out with Gary on Saturday afternoon for the Michigan/Michigan State game and that night at a downtown oasis called ThreadGills for a fun country rock band called Mother Truckers. Matt has found some of their music on iTunes. By the way, Deb, we noticed on their website that they will be in Boise in a few weeks if you and Ryan are interested in checking them out.

On Sunday, Gary and the girls came to the airport to check out the jet. It was so good to see them! They really got a kick out of trying on the heavy parachute and the fancy helmet.

All four of us look forward to doing the run again next year. Austin is a great city to visit!