As it was the first time he has ever gone running, he said that he really learned a few things about how to run and how to set a good pace. He also learned an unexpected lesson about why one shouldn't run on the sidewalk - he tripped over a fire hydrant! Thankfully, Mommy didn't have to carry him to the finish line, as that was only about a half mile in.
Besides my joy at being able to run with my firstborn child next to me for the first time, the highlight of the race for both of us happened at the very end. As soon as we saw the finish line, we both had the same idea to finish strong. G found some major energy all of a sudden and started sprinting. Well, I wasn't going down without a fight, so I tried to keep his pace. As we happened to be in a sparse section of other runners, everyone at the finish line started cheering for us. It was exhilarating, funny, and really pretty difficult. Thankfully, Danielle happened to be standing at the finish line taking photos for our school, so we can't wait to see what she captured. G actually beat me to the finish line, so my tagged foot must have crossed the start line a little after his, leaving my official time about three-tenths of a second ahead of his. As soon as we crossed the finish line, I grabbed him in a big bear hug and jumped up and down; I was so proud of him. Then, he collapsed on the ground and I had to drag him off to the side before we went to collect our goodie bags.
Here are our results: Chip was 4th in his age group (almost won an award!) out of 6, and 184th overall out of 248, with a time of 39:48.85. He beat an 8- and a 12-year old in his division, as well as a few people in each other time group (even a 20-year-old!). Most importantly, he set a PR (personal record), which is the race goal of most runners. In the 30-39 age group, I finished 34th out of 47, and 183rd overall, with a time of 39:48.51. I beat a 25-year-old, so that was something. It's always good not to come in last! (We did see the woman who came in last, though, and she was very happy, and we had fun cheering for her. Even the last place finisher can be proud of finishing!)
We could not be prouder of G for doing his best and trying something new. He has a mommy who is over the moon about having a new running partner who will run up the hills with her! Now that we have three runners in the family, we can add a new family activity to the list - that is, as soon as we fix that flat stroller tire...
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| Two very happy and proud racers. |
