Race Day

I just had to share this short little funny story! On Saturday morning, Noah came and crawled in bed with me. It was EARLY and I was hitting the snooze button when I should have been rolling out of bed. I had to get up early to head downtown for the 5 mile race I was signed up to run.
When I finally sat up, Noah asked "Why are you getting up, Mommy?".
I replied, "I have to get dressed so I can go run my race down at the Capital".
Noah said, "I want to run the race, too".
I said, "Noah, this is a 5 mile race. I don't think you are ready for that yet.".
His quick response was, "But, Mommy, I ran that race with you and Gran last year and I WON that race!".
Trying not to laugh, I said, "Noah, that was a 3 mile race. You rode in the wagon or walked until the last 4 blocks. Then you ran with Gran."
Very emphatically he replied, "MOMMY, I WON. They were cheering when I ran across the finish line!". (Back Story - last fall we participated in the 5K sponsored by the boys' school. Greg ran and pushed Andy in the jogging stroller. Mom and I walked and I pulled the wagon. Blake and Noah alternated riding in the wagon with walking it with us. At the very end, Noah wanted to run so Mom jogged with him across the finish line. Everyone was cheering and he thought he won the race!)

I had such a hard time not laughing at him. He was very determined and I want to encourage him to run, exercise, be active, etc. I told him we would work on him running. Greg finally said maybe he could run a kids' race. Noah wanted to know what that was. We explained some races (like the Mid-summer Night's Run in Lexington) have kid races/fun runs. There is one called "The Fastest Kid in Town". When Greg told him that, he said, "Carter (his cousin) is the fastest kid in town!". This seemingly appeased him and he "allowed" me to get ready and leave for the race without any other deterrence.
I started my race and as I was crossing a bridge downtown, I saw Greg with the boys. They were all cheering. As I came around another street downtown, they were coming down the sidewalk. All of a sudden, Noah comes darting out into the street and starts running beside me. He said he was going to run the rest of the race with me. I couldn't stop running, but told him he could run with me later. Greg finally got him and took him back to the sidewalk. He was crying and I felt awful!
Fortunately, Greg took the boys to a local bakery and they all go donuts and walked back to the Capital to be at the finish line as we crossed it. I guess we are going to have to find an area fun run for Noah to run in soon!
The race was great and went well. I finished the five miles in 55 minutes. I would have rather done it in 50 (which would have been 10 minute miles), but it was the first race I have run in that was more than a 5K.
I turned around and ran 10 miles last night - the first time ever - in 2 hours and 7 minutes. Mentally, I knew I had to do it so I could continue to train for this half-marathon. Now I know that I can run the half-marathon and not keel over! I want to continue to improve my times and build endurance/strength. The hardest part is behind me now.
The next race is a 5K on June 11 downtown. I am hoping to drastically improve my time from the race a year ago. This was the first 5K I ever participated in exactly one year ago. It will be nice to compare how much I have improved.