OVER THE RIVER

Last year we attended this race for the first time and it was the flame that lit my running fire after a long hiatus. Watching a race can be really inspiring! I had big plans to run the race this year while Jay had considered walking it with the kids, but we ended up doing the opposite. I'm coming off an injury (2.5 weeks back to running now!), so I decided to take the kids in the stroller and run/walk the 5 miles. And something completely unexpected happened to Jay this year - he became a runner! A man who has sworn to me for years that he hated running and would never do it for a longer distance than a soccer field, just completed his first 5 mile race (bringing his total race tally to FOUR events this year). AND he's signed up to run the Rock'n'Roll Half Marathon with me in February. So yes, he IS a runner now! And I'm super proud of him!

Running races is exhilarating. You train, you get up early, you anticipate. And if you run with me, you have a cheerleader in your face at 7:00am asking if you've warmed up, used the bathroom, and jumped up and down in excitement yet. Yes, racing is even MORE fun when you do it with friends!

Jay, Denise, Heather, Cari, Christina, Sophie, Alex, and the kiddos.

This event is well organized, and it started right on time. Since strollers weren't technically allowed, I hung at the back with Alex and Heather (who were planning to walk more than run, and I had no real plan other than to get through the miles) while Jay, Sophie, Cari, and Christina headed up front (Al stayed back to watch Lauren and Will). Jay ran a smart race, pacing himself so that he didn't go out too fast, and finished strong (despite the killer hill at the end of the race).

He finished with a 48:56 Garmin time and 49:23 clock time (which isn't as accurate as his Garmin, since he started and stopped his watch as he crossed the start and finish line, whereas the clock times everyone from the horn, even though it takes folks a while to get past the starting line in the crowd). This was not only the first time he raced further than 5K, but also the first time he EVER ran 5 miles. Last weekend he ran 4, and the weekend before that 3.5, so I was truly impressed with his efforts today!

For me, starting at the very back, behind the walkers, ended up being a terribly bad idea. The walkers were wall-to-wall on the bridge, and it was probably the most frustrating mile I've ever run, trying to get through them. If I ever do this race with the stroller again, I will most definitely sneak in at the back of the runners!

Eventually I spotted a cop on a Segway (monitoring the crowd for safety), so I followed him and let him break a path for me. James LOVED that!

Once we got off the main portion of the bridge and I'd passed most of the walkers, I really enjoyed the race. It was an out-and-back (into Louisiana), so I got to see Jay (and Sophie, Christina, Cari, and Ashley) on their return. I had a lot of fun cheering for them and for some of the other runners. For the most part, fellow runners and walkers were really supportive of me and made me feel great for being out there pushing my 105+ lbs of kids, gear, and stroller (only one negative comment: "They SAID no strollers", from a lady I wasn't even near). The kids were awesome for me (no whining or complaining, no throwing of water bottles or shoes) and seemed to like seeing the bridge and river and train tracks. I felt great for the first 3.5 miles, then started to get tired once I was back on the bridge. Since the bridge is at a slight decline heading over the river into Louisiana, it's at a slight incline the whole way back (with a big hill, AKA ramp, at the end). It wasn't too bad, but I did take 3 short walk breaks on the way back. Of course, every time I slowed down, James would say "Come on mommy, we have to hurry. They're passing us! Run! Run mommy!" Such a great cheerleader! Even at the end I still felt good (hooray, I ran 5 miles and didn't pass out!), until I had to climb that final hill... I was so glad Jay came back to run that hill with me - I needed his help to get that stroller up!

My estimated finish time was somewhere between 58:00-59:00 minutes. I can't use my clock time (1:01:24) because I didn't start with the runners, and the walkers started 2-3 minutes after the running group. Plus, I was at the very back of the pack, so I didn't pass the starting line until 3-4 minutes after the runner horn. Oh well, I don't really care what my time was anyway. I'm just glad I was ABLE to run 5 miles today (well, make that 6 miles, since I did the 1-mile fun run with James too).

With my husband, the runner. (Again, why am I always the sweatiest one?! I even wore black this time!)

Don't let these kids fool you, their excitement for the 1-mile fun run waned almost as soon as they set foot on the bridge...

See? Manu is already making a cranky face and Cora is already asking to be picked up. Not sure what Will is up to over there with Al on the left though, so maybe he was just getting geared up, since he did great for almost the entire first half mile. James was pumped for the initial downhill (and didn't want me to hold his hand or help him in any way).

Here are James and Will, holding strong across the bridge!

At the turnaround I sent James ahead to go around the cone solo. He loved having all those volunteers down there cheering just for him!

On our return, we found daddy carrying Cora. Poor daddy... Hurt feet, exhausted legs, and now a sore back to top off his first long race experience!

James was even less impressed with the finish hill as I was during my race, but once he saw Cari and Mike and Bridger and Jacob cheering him on, he picked up the pace and sprinted across the finish line. I think his time was somewhere around 15 minutes.

 The after party was fun - free beer, Subway sandwiches, live music, and a bouncy house. Some of our friends won awards, so that was really exciting too! Kristi placed first overall among females, Ashley placed first in our age group, and Bridger placed second in his age group for the 1-mile fun run. Kristi and Ashley's kids won awards in their age groups too - lots of talented kiddos! And Sophie ran a PR and came really close to placing in our age group too. I'm so proud of them all! Definitely an awesome race day all around!