If you haven't heard of her, Laney Brown was an amazing little girl who had cancer. I didn't know her personally and I don't ever remember seeing around even though we lived five minutes from her house. You can read more about Laney on her website or Facebook page:
Team Laney Facebook Page
Laney's Legacy of Hope
One of the things Laney wanted before she died was to have Christmas carolers come to her house. Once this wish was put out there, everyone in our area, and some people from farther away, came to sing Christmas carols to that sweet girl. My husband and I attended. It was craziness! There were over 10,000 people crammed into the street outside of her house singing carols for her.
Laney died on Christmas day last year. It was devastating to her family but it was also devastating to all of us. That little girl brought so many people together.
When I saw the information about the Fashionista 5K honoring Laney, I knew I had to sign up and make it my first 5K. So that's what I did. I had never run a 5K before and I had only run 3 miles on the treadmill one time so I wasn't at all prepared! It was a run/walk so we could have walked it but my husband (who completed a half marathon a few years back) insisted that we run it.
I didn't really train for it except to run a little more in the weeks leading up to the race. I was never able to find my pace when running outside. I wasn't too bad on the treadmill but wasn't great either. So I was pretty nervous to run this thing.
There were 765 people registered to walk or run this thing. It was absolutely crazy seeing all of these people gathered for this awesome race. And there were tons of people just lining the streets to watch!! Friends of ours actually watched the kids for us at the race while we ran so they were at the finish line waiting for us.
It wasn't horrible. It wasn't great but it wasn't horrible. I started off pretty great but, again, I just couldn't find a good pace that I was comfortable with so I had to stop to walk a few times to catch my breath. I think if I had just slowed down a little bit I would have been fine.
We finished with a time of 38:46 which I though was decent considering it was my first time and my goal was to finish in under 45 minutes. We were 281 and 282 on the sheet, which out of 765 people is pretty dam good. They stopped timing the race at 45 minutes, though, so it makes it look like there were only 371 runners. I'm going with 281 out of 765!
The funny part is that since the race, I've been able to establish a much better pace while running and have been running farther. Hopefully I can keep it up and really improve my time. I think I'd like to run another 5K, or even a few more. I actually had fun doing it!
Team Laney Facebook Page
Laney's Legacy of Hope
One of the things Laney wanted before she died was to have Christmas carolers come to her house. Once this wish was put out there, everyone in our area, and some people from farther away, came to sing Christmas carols to that sweet girl. My husband and I attended. It was craziness! There were over 10,000 people crammed into the street outside of her house singing carols for her.
Laney died on Christmas day last year. It was devastating to her family but it was also devastating to all of us. That little girl brought so many people together.
This is what it looked like outside of Laney's house. Her mom posted the picture on the left on Facebook as we were walking by.
When I saw the information about the Fashionista 5K honoring Laney, I knew I had to sign up and make it my first 5K. So that's what I did. I had never run a 5K before and I had only run 3 miles on the treadmill one time so I wasn't at all prepared! It was a run/walk so we could have walked it but my husband (who completed a half marathon a few years back) insisted that we run it.
I didn't really train for it except to run a little more in the weeks leading up to the race. I was never able to find my pace when running outside. I wasn't too bad on the treadmill but wasn't great either. So I was pretty nervous to run this thing.
There were 765 people registered to walk or run this thing. It was absolutely crazy seeing all of these people gathered for this awesome race. And there were tons of people just lining the streets to watch!! Friends of ours actually watched the kids for us at the race while we ran so they were at the finish line waiting for us.
It wasn't horrible. It wasn't great but it wasn't horrible. I started off pretty great but, again, I just couldn't find a good pace that I was comfortable with so I had to stop to walk a few times to catch my breath. I think if I had just slowed down a little bit I would have been fine.
We finished with a time of 38:46 which I though was decent considering it was my first time and my goal was to finish in under 45 minutes. We were 281 and 282 on the sheet, which out of 765 people is pretty dam good. They stopped timing the race at 45 minutes, though, so it makes it look like there were only 371 runners. I'm going with 281 out of 765!
The funny part is that since the race, I've been able to establish a much better pace while running and have been running farther. Hopefully I can keep it up and really improve my time. I think I'd like to run another 5K, or even a few more. I actually had fun doing it!
It was called the Fashionista 5K because Laney like sparkle and glitter and zebra prints. Participants were supposed to come decked out in their best apparel. I made these tshirts with our names in glitter on the back. The kids had matching shirts. This picture was of us walking to the start line.
We were at the start line and just waiting for the race to start.
We did it! This is our sweaty after selfie.
Ashlyn got her face painted at the after party.
Both kids fell asleep in the stroller on the walk back to the parking garage. You would have thought they had run the race!
Have you ever run a marathon or a race? How'd you do?
I know of Laney and I'm so happy you were able to partake in making her dreams come true. My heart breaks for these special children who's time is cut short. It's beautiful that you did the 5K. My husband is a total "let's just run the whole thing" person too. I'm the complete opposite. I'll use anything to sell a walking session. I'll make deals, I'll plead, anything but run! Please don't make me run. I think the fear of running is probably worse than the running itself. Your time is great! Especially because you didnt even train!! I miss you Vanessa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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