Running Opener

my boy makes me proud. for so many reasons but this weekend it was because i realized that my kid is a runner. saturday morning was the running opener. it was cool and quite windy but gorgeous out. spencer and i both had one thing on our mind - racing. well spencer probably was torn between running and the easter egg hunt that followed his run but still. we got up early and had our pre-race breakfast. half a trail mix bagel with pb for me. yogurt and cinnamon raisin toast for the boy. then we got dressed. i hemmed and hawed deciding what to wear since it was in the 40's but the wind was whipping around at 20-30 mph. i settled on shorts and my light windbreaker jacket over a short sleeve shirt. (this turned out to be a great decision). we woke mere up and all headed to lake phalen for the festivities to begin. the race was being chip timed for the first time and we were given ankle bracelet chips to wear - sort of like house arrest monitors for racing... but the only timing mat was at the finish line. frustrating since i certainly am not going to line up in front. now or ever. anyhow after a few minutes of waiting we were off with a READY, SET, GO! my strategy for this race was to stay with the 1 hour pacer. a 9:40 pace seemed reasonable so i went with that. first mile was tight since the race is run on the paths around the lake. everyone is jockeying for position but there really isn't anywhere to go. i opted to stay where i was and move up when i saw the chance. the first mile went smoothly. mile 2 the wind was whipping across the lake and a decent sized hill capped it off. i pulled ahead of the pacer and decided to push harder once i hit the half-way point. the wind continued to dominate through the next 3/4 mile. back near the start i saw spencer and mere and sadie cheering. the clock at the finish read 29 minutes and something seconds. the second lap of the lake was much looser. everyone had spread out and i was pushing only myself. the wind was still whipping across the lake but i didn't care. i just ran. passed a few people and tried to maintain my pace. finished in 58:48 officially (pace 9:20) - though the no mat at the start would likely account for the 20+ second difference between garmin time and official time. regardless it was under an hour for the first time ever in a 10k. last 10k was two years ago. improvement of 7:54. not too shabby. of course now i know i could have run even faster. that's why there is next time i suppose.

then it was time for spencer's 1k. he was excited. and focused. took off like a rocket. after a few minutes when we couldn't see the kids anymore i thought perhaps i should run up and make sure he hadn't decided to go for a stroll through the parking lot or anything. when i caught up with him he was on his way back and still running hard. so i joined him. at one point he wanted to walk so i asked him if he came here to run or to walk. (yes i know this potentially makes me a bad parent. or a good coach...) with about 200 yards left i stepped off the course and let him run in triumphant. after the finish he headed up for some gatorade and an oreo. need to replace those carbs!