This weekend I got to share something I love with someone I love. Running….with my favorite girl. I signed up for the Lady Track Shack 5K on a whim — and decided to make it a mother-daughter affair.
I actually didn’t even tell L that we were running it until 2 weeks before. Surprise! I had heard really great things about this race and given everything going on right now — a women’s only race was perfect timing.
A friend picked up our race packets and we met outside the Orlando Science Center around 7:10. The race started at 7:30, so we took a few pictures and then lined up right as the race was starting. Kendra had a stroller so she had to start in the back (my only complaint) – even behind the walkers, so we all decided to start with her. We were some of the last people to cross the start — good thing we were chip timed!
Love these mamas and their kids!
My friend’s daughter was also running so the girls started together. Unfortunately, there was so much bobbing and weaving past the walkers that we lost them somewhere around 1.5 miles. They still finished though — it was their first 5K together!
For the past 2 weeks, L has had run club at school (finally – I can volunteer at something!) and she’s been running almost 2 miles, so I knew she could do this 5K without an issue. I wasn’t, however, expecting her to run the entire time — WHICH SHE DID!
What are they looking at here? I have no idea.
We did stop for water – but for less than a minute and she was back to running again.
Here is a fantastic picture of me running with my eyes closed.
I was most impressed that she didn’t complain about running or ask to stop AT ALL. The past two 5Ks she had run were full of complaints and declarations that she was never going to finish. This time she just kept going and even picked up the pace at the end. The weather certainly helped (it was 42 degrees out) and having a running buddy (Kendra’s daughter) with her helped too.
Speaking of the end – she insisted on holding my hand as we finished. It might have been because it was freezing (for this Massachusetts turned Florida girl!), but I’d like to think it’s because she wanted to finish like a team. I can only hope she feels this same way 5-10 years from now!
Ahhh — so happy!
We finished in 39:11 (chip time). That’s a HUGE PR for her (her last race was 50+ minutes) and to top it off she beat me by a second!
Our crew all finished around the same time and we were very happy to be done.
Awkward Crouching Picture 2017
Pretty — especially for a 5K!
After the race, we all grabbed plants that I’m sure I will kill in record time (#blackthumb) and then caught up with some of my fast and speedy friends who placed in their age groups! L ate 2.5 Krispy Kreme donuts and got attacked by a dinosaur…
We also received amazing shirts from Raw Threads that I never want to take off (I’m NOT wearing it now, but if I were laying around at home I would).
Speaking of age groups… L placed third in hers (of out 13)! I’m so proud of her. Of course, I had NO IDEA that they were giving out age group award for 7-year olds, so we left before the awards were handed out. Derp. She was very sad that she missed all of the attention! I still need to find out if Track Shack will still honor her award. I will have to make a big deal out of it if they do, apparently.
I did tell her that next year, she’s bumping up into a new age group (8-10), so needs to step up her running game if she wants to repeat. She says she’s all in — I guess time will tell!