Austism Center of Tulsa's 5K Race and Fundraiser

Last Saturday morning I woke up extremely early to run a 5K race. I know, I can hardly believe I did that myself! Most of you know that I am NOT a morning kind of person. It took a really great cause to drag me out of my warm, king size bed on a Saturday morning before my kids were awake. The Autistic Center of Tulsa has this event every year for the past three years now, and they did an awesome job.
I was nervous to run, because I have never ran a real race in my life. I was a person who hated track growing up. I didn't want to run just to run. I thought that seemed very boring. But now, running has become a kind of stress reliever and the time in the evening when it is just me and the pavement. I can zone out completely and do something for myself that makes me feel good.
Being that it was my first race, I didn't have many goals for myself. I wanted to run the whole race, and I didn't want to be at the end of the pack. I did both of those things, so I was happy about that.
It was funny how little I knew about races. First off, when I got there I was supposed to check in and get my "chip." I was like, "sweet, they give us chips to eat before we run?" Sadly, they were just these little plastic things that tied up your shoe laces, and they had your racing number on them. It times you when you cross the finish line.
Then, I am running towards the turn around point of the course and these people were holding out small paper cups of water for the runners. I took one and took a big drink and then wondered what I would do with it? Then ahead of me, I see all the runners tossing their cups off the side of the path. I just followed their lead and tossed my cup in the grass. I have to admit, it went against everything in me. This picture is proof that I actually did it. I placed 100th and ran it in 30min. Not very well, so I'd like to do it again to see if I can do better.

This is me, my friend Rachel, and Karis, who we were running for. We had just finished the race about 10 min before this picture was taken. Sorry that we looked so good. :) Karis, She is 9 yrs old and such a sweet and happy little girl. She seemed excited that we were there to run for her. I have to admit that it overwhelmed me a little to see all these kids with Autism and their supportive families and friends there. It touched me, it really did.

My sister, Tamara, has a son named Ethan. He is autistic as well. Ethan was definately on my mind through this event. Ethan has such a sweet soul. He loves to gives hugs. He loves to laugh. He is funny-very, very funny. He is really good at the computer. He loves rootbeer floats. He loves to swing. He can recite to you any Disney movie ever made. Most importantly, he is a son of God and he is so loved.

I'm not sure why some are born with conditions like autism, but I know that one day, through the atonement of Jesus Christ, Ethan will be made whole. As a family member who loves Ethan, I take great comfort in that. I know my sister does too.

Even though I wasn't the fastest runner there, the day meant a lot to me and I was so glad that I was able to be involed with it.