The River Heights town was celebrating their "birthday" and as part of the celebration they held a small 5K & 1 Mile Children's Race. I had plans of having us all participate but little Nyah decided the night before not to run so I had to arrange for babysitting for her, thankfully, my neighbor Jill was going to take part on the race but not in the 5K so she could watch NyNy while Sam, Bryant and I ran.
Race morning came early and with a chilly wind. Each time I run in the cold air I suffer for it the rest of the day with an awful cough and with a chill that just stays deep in my bones. As we lined up for the race, Bryant went to the front with this friend Quinn. I wanted to keep him in my sight just to be sure he crossed the roads okay but then Quinn's Dad told me that he would be watching them so I was "free" to just run. As they let us go for the run, I took off with the front of the pack, I was one of the first women in the pack but I hadn't paid close attention to see if there were any others girls up there with me. 
My Garmin beeped at one mile and I saw that I clocked a 6:53 pace! Wowza! I was rocking it and I was feeling it in my lungs--the cold air was making me hurt so I pulled back just a little to allow for the cough to subside, men with strollers were passing me by this time but I was still at the front of the pack. A little downhill came and I savored it as I knew that the next 1/2 mile or so was going to be uphill. In the uphill section, I dug in with my toes and gritted my teeth but kept going, I passed one of the gentlemen pushing a stroller. Uphills are usually my crummiest but I wasn't going to walk, I kept pushing and kept telling myself that 3.1 miles is easy and I should be able to keep the pace going. As I neared the last turn of the race, I dug in a little deeper and with my throat aching from the cold air I crossed the finish line.
Gasping for air and yet not being able to take it all in due to the cold and the cough that came at that same moment, they handed me a little paper plate that said 1st place W. I looked at it and they told me my time: 23:04. I had been fast enough to come in 1st place in the womens! I was stoked despite the ache in my throat and lungs.
Hubby was already there, he had finished in about 22 minutes--he doesn't remember his exact time as the organizers started talking to him and he forgot to stop his watch.
My boyo had not finished yet so I sent Sam, who was feeling a bit better than I was to go run back to get him and help him. I didn't have it in me to run back, I needed water and a rest to let my throat feel better. 3.1 miles is a bit far in my eyes for an 8 year old to run non-stop but Boyo aka Bryant really had his heart set on it.
Boyo came in at 27minutes! He is freaking fast for an 8 year old! He placed second in his age group. He wanted to come in 1st so he was a little disappointed but we made sure to tell him how stellar his time really was. I mean, I know a lot of adults who would love to run a 5K in 27minutes.
After the 5K the 1Mile race started and Nyah decided at that point that she wanted to run, so hubby went with her. She just ran for fun, no pressure, just running with her friends from the neighborhood.
After the race, they gave all the little kids a ribbon and we all got apple pie and ice cream.
I got my 1st place medal EVER! My kiddos won a pair of socks and a gift card to Zeppes, an Italian ice cream place. Overall it was a fantastic family activity!
