Weekend in Richmond & GBA

Weekends are generally full of too much work and moaning about how I wish I had my weekends back like when I was teaching in a public high school.  Then reality sinks in that I never really did have weekends to myself back then due to being a slave for the Philadelphia School District.  Lesson planning, grading, IEPs and last minute papers don't really have "weekend" options on them.  Luckily, I had absolutely no work or obligations this Saturday, and my good friend VB invited me up to Richmond for the Autism 5K.

Now, you may not know this about me. I run. A lot. It's the one moment of sanity that I find in my life of chaos, but I have actually never participated in a formal organized race.  How not? Laziness.  Entry fees, scheduling time off to do it. Whatever the reasons, I've never done one. So, yes, VB took my 5k V-card.  She can forever hold this truth dear to her heart.  I'm sure she'll wear the badge proudly.

VB & Me

The only downfall: VB was just released from the hospital that Thursday and therefore couldn't run, and time with her was more important than running my first race.  So, when the time came, I decided to join her in walking.  We managed to run a little  bit, simply to keep up with the fiery ball of energy that is Little G, but the walk mostly consisted of catching up, gossip, planning a maybe vacation to the Caribbean next year with Stephanie and simply enjoying the little time we had together that day.

Team GBA

But the women in this group I ran (walked) with... OH MY GOD. THE WOMEN! VB's friend, G (mother of Little G mentioned above), is a hysterical, unceasingly sarcastic, and bad ass woman who runs like it's her drug.  G's group of friends/running bff's are so ridiculously supportive and fearless, I just can't help but admire their tenacity.  They run, all the time, but they're absolutely in love with it.  GBA, they call themselves.  (Check out G's blog of all things running & mothering to find out what it means.)  Such a perfect name. Three of these women won their age group, another 2 placed 3rd in AG, and the rest snagged within top 10.  By far the fastest team there. GAHH!! I just get so giddy thinking about such a competitive, but more importantly, incredibly supportive environment these women have created for themselves while really living out the joy that is running.

And of course, now that I've been inspired, look up for an upcoming list of races I'll be joining.  No more excuses, no more lazy runs with no goal in mind.  It's time to kick my butt into gear, embrace why I love running so much, and just be awesome. Because no one will be awesome for me.

Here's to running my ass off, loving it, and begging my husband to come support me at these races (more like begging the government to give him the time off).

-Lacey