That is supposed to be a lion in case you are wondering. A blue lion (of course). If it looks like a dog that's because it is, and the balloon guy managed to convince Noah that is was indeed a lion.
Noah was registered for the under 5 quarter mile run. As usual it was mass chaos and very crowded so all the parents ended up running with their kids, including me. Of course the fleece that I was wearing made my unexpected run a bit toasty but that is beside the point! We started in the back and Noah was very hesitant at first. I encouraged him to pass people if he felt like it and slowly we began moving up. In fact, as we circled the lake we moved from the very back to the front pack of about 8 or 9 kids. Right about that point was when Noah told me he wanted to walk.
"That's fine buddy, but just so you know, we are in the front and the finish line is right up there."
He looked where I was pointing, smiled, and instead of walking sped up to pass a couple more people before we crossed the finish line. I was so proud of him!
Here we are coming through the finish chute....and here he is holding his medal.....
And, though he did not run or anything, here is a picture of Liam just for the sake of cuteness!
By the way, how cute are his new shoes?! He looks like such a big kid!
On Saturday morning I woke up bright and early (actually it was dark and early at 4:30am) and headed out with my Mom to the big event. We waited for a couple hours in the cold but I found a Dunkin Donuts and got some coffee so it wasn't so bad. After awhile we lined up in our corrals - my Mom walked and I ran - and got ready for the start.
Confession time. I could not have been less ready to run 6.2 miles over a 4% incline. My running as taken a serious back seat lately and I have only been getting about 8 miles a week with none of those runs being longer than 4 miles. I haven't actually run anything over 4 miles since November. So, all of that to say that I was not expecting to do well at all. In light of that I didn't even run with my watch so as not to stress myself out looking at my slow miles.
It was hard. That bridge was incredibly steep to my under trained legs and I wanted to walk so bad. But I remembered how Noah refused to walk and vowed that if he could do it so could I. I may not be able to run fast but I was going to run all of it darn it! And I did. I crossed the finish line and my legs felt like lead and I didn't even look at the clock cause I was sure my time was horrible. Even so, I was proud that I didn't quit. My feet and legs hurt bad by the way!
Ouch!
The funny thing was, I checked my results today and saw that ran it in 1 hour flat. (1:00:11, to be exact.) That is not my idea of my best race, but I must admit that I was very proud of that time given how ill prepared I was. I am now inspired to train for a race for real and do really well. I see some more racing in my future!
And last but not least, (and speaking of under trained) this morning I joined my mother in law for the After the Bridge Run Ride. Yes, despite the fact that I have only been on a bike twice in the last 2 months I signed up for a 30 mile bike ride. (I know, I smoke crack.) It was mighty slow, but we finished and I did not get run over by an eighteen wheeler, so I consider it a success.
And now, my tired legs are off to make some brownies to reward myself for all my hard work!
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