If a perfect day can best be described as sharing something you love with the people you love, today came pretty close to perfect. I ran the first Seattle Iron Girl race in 2005 and thought it was a great event. In 2006 I invited my friend Gladys and my niece Lisa to participate. It was my first chance to run with my niece, and I loved every minute of it. Last year we weren’t able to participate, but we talked about it at a family gathering, and my other niece expressed interest. We continued to talk about it, and by spring we decided to include her daughters, too. When my nephew’s wife and my daughter-in-law decided to join in, it meant all of the surviving women from my parent’s family who live within 1000 miles were participating! We live in the same state, but far enough apart that we don’t get together very often. I knew this was going to be a special day, and I was right!
It was cloudy and breezy at the start of the event, so we decided to keep our jackets on. Lisa was running the 10K, so she moved up in the line. My friend Gladys wandered off, and we couldn’t find her again. That left 6 of us. Krista took off like a bullet at the start of the race, and we didn’t see her again. Now we were a group of 5. My niece-in-law, Sheri is a pretty serious runner, but she opted to stroll the event with the rest of us. We may not have had a fast time, but we did have a good time! Half way through the race, the clouds cleared and the sun came out, giving us a beautiful morning to enjoy the serenity of Green Lake.
Krista was waiting for us at the finish line, sporting her first finisher’s medal. I’ve always been proud to have her as a daughter-in-law, but I was extra proud to have her participate in our little reunion, and also to be part of her first 5K! I am a little sorry that I didn’t get to see her cross the finish line. This was the first 5K for my niece Stacey and her daughters Alexis and Makayla, too. I think they were regretting the decision by mile 2, but they stayed with us, and when it was all over, Stacey said she wanted to give it another try. We waited at the finish line for Lisa to finish her 10K, and we got cheer her in, which was great. While waiting, we saw Coach Tory from Journey Fitness. Krista and I had participated in her Iron Girl training group. Eventually we found Gladys. She had race walked the event, and finished in 41 minutes.
After Lisa finished we posed for more pictures, and then went to check out the buffet. The Iron Girl event always has a lovely post race buffet that includes tables with linens. We enjoyed our snack and watched as the awards were passed out. It was particularly inspiring to see the awards for the women in the 70-74 and 75-79 age groups. It was a wonderful morning, but it was over too soon. We all agreed that we should make the Iron Girl an annual event. I can’t think of a better way to spend time with the women who matter most to you!
