Legacy Tour 2008

It's not very often that you get to run/ride on a new highway, and yet that is just what Mike and I got to do this Saturday (Sept 13) on the new Legacy Parkway before it was opened to the public. I had decided to run the 10K (6.2 miles) to give me a goal to work toward in my running, and Mike decided to do the 20 mile bike ride because he had nothing better to do that Saturday morning. (My point: one of us had to work hard to train to be able to do this, and the other was just able to do it with no prior training. Kinda makes you a bit sick if you are the one who had to to train...running 6 days a week...in the dark...uphill both ways) Actually, I was thrilled to have him there with me and to cheer him on and vice versa. I love doing things with this guy!

Another great part of this run was that there was a fantastic group of women from the neighborhood who had decided to run also, and we were all able to meet up with each other and start off together. I say "start off together" because that is about how long most of us were together before we all broke off into our own strides and ran at our own individual paces. But we all finished, and we all ran the entire way.

Here we are the following morning looking much lovelier than we did the previous day after we finished. =)

The little one is 4 year old Ashley, daughter to Rachel, the one in the black behind her. Rachel ran the 10K, and her little daughter rode next to her on her little bike the entire way.
(My 4 year old gets tired after about 50 feet.)

And speaking of feet...

(Mike was going to put his foot in there too, but someone had to take the picture!)

And the Awards go to:

Cami: for leaving us all in the dust with those long legs and long strides. (She told me she was a "slow runner." Uh huh... sure.)

Joni and Natalie: for having the coolest watches of us all that told them exactly how fast they were going and all kinds of cool stuff; and, for running that fist mile in just over 8 minutes!

Kathy and Judy (Kathy's mom): for having the most inspirational reason for running. They have 3 members of their family battling cancer, so they ran for them. (Proceeds of this run went to the Hess Cancer Foundation.) Also, for running as a mother/daughter team. How cool is that?!

Faye: for running the whole time without getting her i-pod to work. I seriously could not have done it.

Hollie: for having this unbelievably upbeat attitude that is contagious and running the entire way next to the i-pod-less Faye.

Rachel: for deciding just a few days before the event to run in it, and then show up and do it, and not long after having a baby either.

Ashley: for being not only her mom's inspiration, but mine as well. They were about 30 feet in front of me, and it was so cute to see little Ashley riding that 2 wheeler in a sea of runners.

And last but not least:
Mike: for being the only one in the bike event who wore sandals, and shorts that had no spandex in them whatsoever!!!!!

"I run because it's my passion, and not just a sport."
~Sasha Azevedo