Bella's First 5K

So it's official Bella completed her first 5k (that's 3.1 miles) on April 16, 2011.  I am one proud momma!  It's not about when or how fast either, but about the fact that she did it period.  I cried as she crossed the finish line.  I made sure she was in front of me because I wanted to see every moment of it!  It was amazing for me to watch as a mom.  I just completed my first 5K in March of 2009.  So I am amazed.  She did wonderful too.  I won't broadcast her time, but it was very good.  She didn't even struggle.  She ran with her friend Julia.  They were adorable together.  The weather was perfect and the rain held out.  It was overcast, but thats much better for running.

So where does she go from here.  She is still running.  Amazingly she can run better than a 9:54 average pace.  Not bad for a ten year old.  She is trying to run three times a week still and last week we even ran the whole way to our local coffee shop which is one mile away.  She ran the whole mile.  She is looking forward to signing up for her next race. 

As for Girls on the Run, I cannot say enough about the program.  It is amazing.  Not to mention the wonderful coaches that volunteer for this.  The lessons they go over, for example, bullying and self-esteem to name only two are priceless.  We discuss all of these things with our three girls, but it is so great when they hear it from others and in such a great teachable format.  We are huge fans now!!  To top it off they put on a great race as well.  It truly shows the girls that they have accomplished something huge.

So if you are ever able to support, GOTR or a similar program please do so.  And no it doesn't need to be Team for Kids(although that would be great).  There are so many programs like this that help kids be active and feel great about themselves.   It's amazing that running can do all that.