Solomon's Jingle Bell 5K
For this race I had the opportunity to meet up with a great bunch from work. If we include spouses and children there were 10 of us in the race. I almost convinced my husband and eldest to run with us too but the silence of the woods and rest before futsal deterred them both.
It's so great to see everyone out and supporting the community through events like these. I know there was a large bunch from the Chesapeake Bay Running Club there too. I just haven't had the opportunity to put faces and names together with them yet. Connecting with the running club will be one of my goals for next year.
I totally messed up with this race. For some bizarre reason, I thought the start time was 9am and not 8:30. Our 8:30 arrival in the words of one of my students, "Cutting it close." We had just enough time to get our race bibs pinned on. I was about to attempt a mad dash to the car, which was parked a little ways away when my friend Kathy appeared and saved the day. She and her daughter were parked right next to the Holiday Inn and so I got to throw my stuff in her car. This allowed us to squeeze in a pic with the Chic-Fil-A cow before starting the race. Luckily for me, the race organizer is extremely organized so it was an easy in, easy out. If you are looking for a first race to do with your kids this race is a great way to go.
Race day temps were perfect this year! I had this lofty goal in my head that I would end the seasons with a PR. I squeaked out a PR last week during the turkey trot and really felt like I could beat it today. Life would have other plans though, on the way to the race G informed me that he just wasn't too excited like last week about running today. Don't get me wrong he was happy to go to the race and try (maybe it was the reindeer antlers), but just didn't have the energy. When the race started he dashed out full speed and I struggled to weave through the strollers and walkers to keep up with him. He really wasn't going exceptionally fast for him but after only a quarter mile, he complained of a stitch in his side. We switched to a walk-run pattern. Just before mile one, I noticed he had dropped back quite a ways and so I stopped and waited for him. I thought he might be too hot so we tied our jackets around our waists and started off again. I noticed a gathering at the turn around point and told him that this was probably the water station. Oops, it was a gathering because a runner had gone down and hit his head in the process. I hope he is ok but haven't heard an update. G was then aggravated because I misinformed him about the water stop, but after another walk break he was off and running again. I felt great, and really wanted to push faster but knew that I needed to stay with him. The water stop was just up a small hill by the church, thank goodness because that was my leverage to get him to run the hill. I still had to stop and wait for him to get a cup filled and drink before heading further down the course. This next stretch after the water stop he really put the breaks on. I really wanted to go faster; he even waved for me to go on. I contemplated it, but I knew if I want to keep him running I needed to stay with him. We ran walked some more and then when we made the final turn back to the finish, he did what I knew he would do....he took off. This time I was not going to let him leave me too far in the dust. I had to hit full stride to keep up with him. An SUV began pulling down the road with the runners and I worried it would try to turn in front of him. When I say took off, we hit strides that were according to my Garmin, under a 7 min mile. After looking at my Garmin analysis and reviewing the amount of time, I stopped to wait for him and examining our average moving pace, I really have to say that we didn't run a bad race. Would another post-40 PR have happened today, had I not paused for him, who knows?
He did end up finishing ahead of me (last image by Bert Hindman Memories Photography). This was more because he is agile and can negotiate other runners and strollers and looks cute doing it, while I just look like a large crazy lady who is not going to make it!
On the way back to the car, he shared how much he enjoys running because he can talk to me and doesn't have to compete for my attention with daddy or his big brother. I am looking forward to running into 2016 and will be posting goals for next year soon! Instead of being annoyed and frustrated that I couldn't run as "fast" (cause that's relative) as I wanted to I am seeking solace in the fact that we spent this time together and that this pace is no longer a struggle for me. There will be many more races to break PRs, but not many until he grows up and no longer wants to run with Mommy. Enjoy the miles......