Ratfink 5k Race

Last February it was the dead of winter and I was feeling the need to challenge myself. I had just been released from my very time consuming calling and I had some spare time on my hands. I decided I wanted to do a 5k. My Mom runs races all of the time so she asked me if I wanted to do the Ratfink 5k in Manti on the first weekend in June. I told her I would love to. I decided to start by doing the Couch potato -to- 5k running plan. It basically helps you build up your time by starting you out by running one minute, walking one minute. You continue to add more time and pretty soon you build up to running a 5k. I did that for about a week and then as I was running at the oval I saw a couple from my ward running and I didn't want them to see me walking so I just kept running. I have a little competetive streak in me sometimes. :) That day I ran two miles and I was so excited! I thought I could do this.

The past few months I have been running/walking with my sister Jodie a few times a week. I knew that I could run three miles, but I am pretty slow. I get my pace and I stick to it. As the weeks went by and June was coming closer I started to get pretty nervous. The day before we were going to go down Ashley got sick so her and Jake weren't able to come down to Manti with us. :( We were so bummed!! We had been planning this little road trip for months. I did end up going down with Haley, Karly and my parents and we had a really great time. The Ratfink festival is pretty fun. It is a reunion for a Ratfink gang from the 70's. My Mom's friend Cathy lives down there and she said it's basically a bunch of former hoods who are now bishops, who get together to relive their youth. Their leader passed away a few years ago and the rest of the guys decided to get together every summer for a reunion and it soon became a big event in Manti every summer. It's pretty fun. Friday afternoon we drove down and got to our motel around 4:30. We got dressed for the race and hung out for awhile and pretty soon I found myself standing at the start line with major butterflies. Ithought to myself, " What the heck am I doing?!" When they blew the whistle everyone sprinted off the finish line and I was bringing up the rear. I stayed in that position for most of the race. I started to get discouraged because there were so many good runners there and I was seriously lagging behind. I gave myself a little pep talk and told myself it doesn't matter how long it takes as long as I do it! I finally finished and my timing was better than I thought. I really thought I was one of the last ones to cross the line but my Mom kept telling my to turn around and look because there were a few more people coming in. Thank goodness I wasn't dead last. I thought this race would be pretty casual and laid back, but I was wrong. These were serious runners! It was a really good challenge for me. It was super hard during it, but afterwards I was so proud of myself. Nothing feels better than accomplishing a goal that you set for yourself.

My Dad is a hoot. We had so much fun driving down with my parents. They spoiled us three girls like crazy. I have the best parents.

Me and Karly hanging out at the retro motel. This motel was super cheap and totally retro, but we loved it. We stayed in Gunnison because all of the motel's in Manti were booked. I love small towns! Wish I could live there.

Me and my girls. We had a great time together. Aw, sisterly love. It was really fun doing a race with my Mom. She was sick and she still ran it and came in 1st place in her age group. There is no stopping that woman! What a fun trip! I can't wait to do it again next year.

P.S. I am having issues with my blog. It prints all of my blog in one huge paragraph. Does anyone know how to fix this?