Live Strong

I would like to say thank you to everyone who supported me during the 2007 LiveStrong Challenge. It was wonderful! It was in the low 80's on Saturday morning which helped make the day truly beautiful. The girls and I were up at 5:00am to drive the hour to Austin to make the event. Lance was there to wish all the participants a good race and to talk about the legislative propostion for cancer research that is coming up for a vote.
The 5K was all down hill to start and then all up hill to finish. It was a challenge, but very fun. Just like last year I was once again humbled by those around me. Riding in a bike wagon in front of me was a family that had a beautiful picture of their 9 year old son on the back of the wagon. The caption simply read, "In Memory of." The fact that I was there with my oldest daughter, who complained the whole 3 miles that we were going to fast, and my youngest daughter who kept telling me through the whole race that she wore the wrong shoes was no longer important. I had them! I had both of my children there with me. I did not have to look at a picture of them or try and remember what their voice sounds like. I had tears in my eyes as I passed this family and they smiled at us and said, "thank you and live strong." My oldest daughter said, 'wow mom that sucks, doesint it?" She then said 'can we slow down." I smiled at her and said " yes it does and dont be such a wuss."
We finished the event and went to Starbucks for some coffee. We sat and watched others finish for a little while before going home. These are the days when I realize how fortunate I really am. It was great to see so many runners and riders come out for a worthy cause. In the words of the family that I passed on the road, "thank you and live strong!"