Run with the son

For the past few weeks my son and I have been 'training' together. We signed up for a 5k race, just so we would be (more) motivated to go out and run.
Well today was the showdown.
The Day of The Race.

We had to get up early in order to get our fan club together and moving in time for a 9 am race start. Thankfully all the girls, and my husband, were ready to go in time.
The weather teased us the whole drive to the race site, with sprinkles of rain. And then we saw the sunbeams shining through the clouds. (I always hear an "Alleluia" being sung in my head when I see sunbeams breaking through the clouds.) My husband calls this Jacob;s Ladder. I had not heard it called that until today! But I like it!



We got there in plenty of time, and checked in and warmed up. I tried not to 'coach' the boy too much, but just a few last minute tidbits of advice.

Adoring fans along the route

I thought we would race together for maybe the first mile, but my son had different ideas and a different pace. He took about 5 steps with me when we started the race, and then he was about 100 meters ahead the rest of the time. I high-fived him as he passed me on the way back in (an out-and-back course) and clued him in on where to put the kick on for the finish. 

As I kept sucking air running I counted the number of women passing me on the way back. It helped my mind from wandering to the pain, and I had a better idea of how I was doing.

So my son made it in at a great time - 24:59 - especially for his first 5k ever. We are so proud of how well he ran, not just in his time, but how he owned this race of his! And how much he enjoyed it - we could see it on his face the rest of the day. It also helped that he placed 3rd in his age group, and received a certificate for that.

If I just passed that one lady in front of me, whom i followed for many many footsteps, I would have also placed 3rd in my age group. But 4th isn't too bad either. And I'm actually happy with my time of 28:15 (per my watch).

**update: when we checked the website today, my official time is listed as: 27:53. !!!! Woohoo! I'll take it!

after the race