July 17th 5k and Heading Home

Saturday, our final day of the reunion. On this day, my Mom, sisters, and I did something which we have never done before. Something that is very uncharacteristic of any Stephens I know! We ran a 5K! Our first one ever. It was great. We had been training "together" using the same C25K program on our iPhones in California, Arizona, Utah, and Wyoming. Now was our chance to come together and run a 5k. We woke up early and headed into Colorado Springs where the race was being held. Then the fun began! I was a little nervous because I had only run once in the past 2 and a half weeks, and I was used to running on a treadmill in Arizona. I was a little nervous of the altitude. Well, once we got to the general area of where the race was going to begin, we couldn't figure out how to get into it. As we were driving around trying to get in, we saw the path which we would soon be running...now I was afraid of not only the altitude, but Colorado also has hills, and they would be used! Anyway, we finally asked one of the police officers there how to get into the beginning of the race and when we told him where we were from, he said, "the altitude is going to kill you!" Not really the encouragement that I needed! Anyway, we followed his directions and still had trouble finding where we were supposed to be. It would have been really nice if they had people there directing traffic, or signs or something. Oh well, finally at 6:55 we parked and began to run in to get our numbers and chips and all. Just as we finished getting everything on, they began the race, so we started our run a little early as we ran to the starting line and on. I had one sister who hadn't registered ahead of time and once there, she discovered that they would only take cash, which she didn't have, so she wasn't able to run! =( That was a bummer!

As soon as I began running, I began to think that the officer was right. The altitude made a huge difference and I found it hard to take in a breath. I had to walk sooner, and more than I had hoped, but luckily as I continued on, it did get better. The hills also made it a bit more difficult. However, my goal was just to finish, and finish I did! My time ended up being 49 minutes, and although that does give me something to beat, I did finish it and that felt good! My sister Kim had the goal of running the whole thing which she did! She, Debbie, and Stacie all came in very close together. My brother Kevin, his boys, Ryan, Uncle Mike, and Sheri were all in the bleachers at the finish line. It was great to have them, plus my sisters who had already finished, be there cheering me on as I finished the race. What a great feeling!

Since we ended up getting there so late, we didn't get any before pictures. Here are a few at the finish line.



I did it!


After the race, we went home to shower and check out of the hotels. When I got back, John and the kids were not there. I showered and packed everything up, and they still weren't there and I couldn't reach John on his cell phone. I could tell that Bryce hadn't eaten yet, so I didn't think they would have gone far. We had to be out by 10:30, and they finally arrived just minutes before 10:30. I was stressing to say the least! Well, it ends up that they had gone over to the race, but gotten there after we had left. Oops! However, they were there when the awards were being given out, and John heard my Mom's name. Ends up that she came in 3rd place in her age category! Way to go Mom! She got a little glass and plate as awards!


After quickly packing up the van, we all went to Red Robin for lunch before heading home.


















After lunch, we stood outside and talked as long as we could, but all good things must come to an end and all to soon we had to say our good-byes and head in our own directions. It was so great to see my family again. So hard to say good-bye. I wish that we lived closer together and could see each other more often. William keeps asking me when we are going to move to Utah and get a two story house next to his cousin Avery. The kids all got along so well. It was a fantastic reunion. Thanks to Mom, Dad, and Sheri for organizing the reunion. Can't wait until the next one!

We stayed the night in Albuquerque and then after breakfast and a swim, we continued, arriving home Sunday afternoon. It was nice to be home...especially since I had gotten the time to pick up the house before we left and the cleaning people had come while we were gone. Having a clean house made coming home much nicer. However the thought of everything that had to be done in the next week and a half before we packed up and left again for Oklahoma was not a very pleasant thing.

A few shots of us when we stopped for lunch on Sunday. I seem to like taking pictures of us in food places. These are all I have from the trip home.