the race

this one makes me laugh. it's like they are both saying to each other, "bring it!!!"



well, i finished it. my time was not as good as i had hoped, but i felt like i ran a good race. i couldn't find my watch, so i had no idea what my pace was, so i just ran like i normally do, and ran up all the hills, just at a slower pace. i felt good during it and felt really strong, so i had really high hopes as i was getting close to the finish line.

as i turned the corner right before the finish line, i finally saw the time clock. as soon as i saw it i mouthed to myself, "crap", because i was a full 3 minutes off of where i wanted to be. they had a photographer there, so i hope he didn't get me mid-crap.

i was the first in our group to finish, so i ran back and cheered on the rest of our friends and family. i ran back with my niece the last little bit before the down hill finish. she did good. i am so proud of her!!

you feel so accomplished after you run, i swore i didn't want to take off my bib number all day.

jj's race wasn't until a few hours after ours ended, so we ate pancakes at the pancake breakfast and waited. there was also a 10K, a 2 mile, and jj's race, the 1/2 mile. there were people of all ages there. there were these two older men (probably in their 80's) who ran the 10K. they were amazing!! a couple minutes after i finished the 5K, we saw a 4 year old finish the 5K with his dad. it was so adorable.

so back to jj's race, he was definitely on the older end of the racing age, so he was one of 5 or 6 bigger kids that were there. honestly, i didn't have high hopes for him, since he didn't do well when i took him to the track. he lined up at the front while they gave the instructions. the two pacers for his race were 5th graders who my niece knows and who jj has heard of. well, that is all it took. the pacers got a head start and then they were off. we couldn't see them the most of the race because of where the route took them. as i hear them getting closer, my niece yells, ''jj is in first place". what??!!! impossible.

coming down the hill, i see the pacers and then not far behind them is jj flying down a dirt hill. i literally thought, he was going to crash and burn. we yelled for him to slow down. there was no one in sight behind him. he was very much, out it front. i cut across the lawn to meet him at the finish line. he beat everyone by a long shot!! this kid amazes me sometimes, but really i know he is just super competitive. like to the extreme. he can't let anyone beat him at anything! afterward i asked him how he ran so fast, he said, "i was trying to beat kyle and kurtis". of course! trying to be the pacers is a great motivation, at least for my son.

so, we had a great race day. i was bummed about my time, but happy with how i ran. there were times where i wanted to stop and walk the hills, but i pushed and my body responded. that was a great feeling!!