I had been unsure of whether or not I would do this first race of the year. I wanted to do it, but I just wasn't sure if it would fit in the schedule or not. It seems that since Jake was born, I don't have a lot of time to do things I really want to do, like go for runs. So when Mike asked if he could play in a golf tournament today, I told him to go ahead and schedule it because I hadn't really made up my mind about running the race. But then Zach was on my case about wanting to do the kids run, and I mean really on my case. So I decided I should let him do it, and asked Drew if he was interested, too, and he was. Then I decided that if I was going downtown for the boys to run, I might as well run, too. Thank goodness I have two mothers-in-law who both live in town, or it wouldn't have worked. Grandma Cynthia came over and stayed at the house with Jake, and Grandma Linda headed down to the race with Zach, Drew, and me so she could be with them while I ran. Thanks, Grandmas, for all of your help today! I really, really appreciate it!
It was a great day for a run, but a little chilly to be standing around watching and waiting, especially if you were three or five years old. Thankfully Linda had a blanket to keep the boys warm while I ran. My friend and neighbor Jaime went with us this morning. She's running a 20k at the beginning of June (another race I'm considering, but not sure I have time to get in all the training for), so doing this 8k race today (5 miles) was her training run for the weekend. She actually didn't sign up for the race, so she just ran on the course but didn't get the shirt or official time. Here we are after the race.
Since I haven't been running much lately, I wasn't sure how the race would go. My goal was 45 minutes. The last time I was running races, before I got pregnant with Jake, I was running faster than 9 minute miles, but I felt like that was a fair goal for this first race in a long time. Well, I beat it by about 3 minutes. The time on my watch when I crossed the finish line was 41:57, and as I looked back at my splits, my first mile was my slowest, at 8:59, and each mile got progressively faster, with the last mile being 7:35. So, while I'm happy that I beat my goal, I wonder if I should have pushed myself a little harder earlier on. Oh, well. I'm happy with the result. I finished 51 out of all 197 women and 18 out of 64 women ages 30-39, with an average pace of 8:26. That's ok with me, but maybe next time I'll have to push myself harder. The highlight of my race was as I came near the spectators at about 3.5 miles, and Zach, Drew, and Linda were right there. Drew spotted me first, and I heard him say, "There she is!! Go Mater!" and Zach yelled, "Hi Mom!"
Once all of the adult runners were done, it was finally time for the Little Lakers run. By this point Drew was freezing and getting pretty crabby. It wasn't that cold out- it was 50ish and overcast- but he was cold, and he was ready to go back to the car. He had been so excited about the race. A couple of days ago he told me how he was going to rev his engine just before the start (you know, like Lightning McQueen). These next couple of photos show the 4 and under kids lining up. In this first one, Drew had probably just told me he was too cold to run, or in his words, "I can't run fast now!" (read that in a really snotty sounding voice, and that would be how it sounded)
So in an attempt to get him into a better mood, I revved my engine, and I should have known better. I got an even crabbier reaction than before. This time it was, "Mack doesn't rev his engine like that!" I believe that's what's being said in this picture.
So then I told him he didn't have to run if he didn't want to, but that he only had this one chance, and then the race would be over and he might be sad if he didn't do it. I offered to hold his hand and run with him if he wanted.
The race started, and suddenly he wanted to run. So we started to run, and I got, "I can't run if you don't hold my hand!" so we held hands.
And we were off. He ran, and while it didn't seem like he hated it, it didn't seem like he loved it, either.
Zach, on the other hand, was in the zone. He was cold, but he was ready to run hard. Jaime got some great pictures of Zach during his race. He was with the 5-7 year-olds.
I love that look of concentration on his face!
The boys with their post-race medals.
After a quick shower, some lunch, and about 2 hours at home, the boys and I headed out again to go to Zach's soccer game. His team had a great game and Zach had lots of fun. He even scored a goal. Thank goodness it had warmed up by this point, so Drew and I didn't mind sitting and watching. And thanks to Grandma Linda, who offered to take Jake during the game. That was very helpful.
This is the best photo I could get of Zach at his game.
When I went to pick Jake up, Zach and Drew decided to stay at Curt and Linda's house to play. Once they came home after Drew's nap, we pretty much turned around and headed to our friends' house for some fun. Those adorable Huss girls wanted some quality time with Jake, so
first Lucy snuggled him,
then Anna held him,
and finally he got some lovin' from them both. Lucky Jake!
We had some good dinner and got in some good playtime. It was nice for Mike and I to chat with Anna and Lucy's parents, BJ and Susan, too.
It was a fun and busy day. Time for bed- here's hoping I get LOTS of sleep tonight!
2 comments:
I officially feel like the laziest person alive after reading this post! Good for you to be back in the racing mood this quickly after having Jake. If I could figure out how to lug an oxygen tank and run, I would enter a race with you :).
1. I second Carey's comment.
2. I love reading Drew stories! For both our sakes, we better make sure Drew & Reese never end up together! 2nd child syndrome I tell ya!
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