Monday, March 7, 2011

Be Proud of Yourself!

As I'm sure you know, Owen and Mason completed their first official races this weekend, as did Aaron. The family headed out to watch Daddy run a 5K (he beat his goal by 9 seconds per mile!) and then the kids participated in two races. The first was a 100 yard dash, in which they ran in its entirety, and the second was a family 1 mile run.

Let me back up a minute. Here is why this was such a big deal to them...
Last March we all witnessed Mimi run her first half marathon in Dallas. We all enjoyed spectating but I was motivated to train for one myself. So starting in April of 2010, I began my journey from couch to 13.1. All along the way the kids took note of everything I did. They would ask if I was going running if I even touched my running shoes, they had a million questions about the "thing" on my shoe (Nike Plus) and wanted to know if it made me go fast. They pretended to be in their own races, hooked little things to their laces so they could go fast too, asked if they could wear a number on their shirt, loved wearing "fast" shoes, wanted me to tell them what the finish line was like, and made us cheer and clap for them as they ran laps through our kitchen and living room. They were also great supporters during my race weekend back in November. So to say this idea of running a real race is in their schema is an understatement! They had been asking if they could do a "kid marathon" sometime, so when Aaron found this event, we knew it was a must!

The kids wore "Run Mommy Run" shirts for my half marathon.  But this time I put tape over the "Mommy" and replaced it with their names.  Boy were they excited to wear these shirts! 

They could not wait for these bib numbers!  They really feel official!

Giving good luck hugs to Daddy before his 5K (O, M)

Aaron waiting for the gun
Watching Daddy get ready to run

Here he comes!

Waiting for Daddy to pass by again

Action shot

Cheering the others on too

Coming in for the finish

Daddy resting, Owen and Mason getting some fuel before their races

I thought this was funny!  They decided they needed to warm up a little before their race.

At the starting line

Seriously ready!


This is when the gun goes off for the Toddler Dash.  It goes quickly, but if you watch closely, you can see Mason's expression.  At first we thought he was mad, but quickly realized he was that serious about his race!  So funny!  (Of our two kids, Mason is the one in front)

Action shot of Owen

Both of them having a blast

Now, I know my kids can run and run and run in our backyard, but I really didn't know where my expectation was going into this 100 yard dash.  Surprisingly, they ran the whole thing without stopping in 3'14".

The home stretch...coming in for the finish!

Mason gets his "gold medal"

Owen gets his too

I could kick myself for not keeping the camera rolling between these two pictures.  I was so excited to congratulate them that I turned the camera off to give hugs, etc.  But this is when the best part of the whole day happened!  The came out from the finish line corral and had the most proud looks on their faces I have ever seen!  They were so excited to tell us about the race and they were even more excited that they won a gold medal, just like Mommy did in November, and Daddy did a few minutes earlier after his 5K!  I have never seen them so proud of themselves for accomplishing something.  It literally brought a tear to my eye, and I hope I never forget the looks on their faces.  Every kid needs to experience moments like that, whether it be running a race or any other thing that makes them feel proud and accomplished. 

Proud with Daddy!

LOVE this picture!

Onto the next race...the ONE MILE race!  
Mason told me he "saved some runs" for the next race.  I had to make him repeat it for the camera because it was so cute.

High fives to the Easter Bunny

I figured it would take us about 30 minutes to run (well, walk and carry them) a mile.  I know where one mile is from our house and the thought of them walking that far, much less running, was a little far fetched.  But we were gonna try it.  I told them they could take walk breaks just like Mommy does if they get tired.  To our surprise, those little boogers ran 90% or more of the distance.  Their walk breaks were literally 2 seconds long before they'd say "time to run again" and take off.  Their time was somewhere around a 15 minute mile.  I know this Momma couldn't do that when she was three!  

Somewhere along the course they looked at us and said...

In action and STILL running

Mason was so excited he even ran with his hands up for a little bit (he's in front of Owen).

On the course (Mason)


Another big finish!

So cute!  Hands in the air from Owen and some fist pumps from Mason.

Family shot on a windy race day!  Proud of two medals each!