After running the Pie and Glove 5k on Thanksgiving Day, my son was really interested in running with me. As a baby he would join me as I would run 5k road races with him in his baby jogger, even making the front page of the newspaper. He was two in this photo and loved to cheer me on then saying, "faster momma, faster!" :)
The next road race was the New Year's Day Hat and Cookie 5k. Tyler joined me and we registered him for his first, official road race! He was SO excited. We went through a series of stretches at home before we left and re-stretched a little once we were all registered. I was so uncertain as to how Tyler would do. Would he run too hard at the start and not be able to finish? Would he be out of breath the whole way? Would he get hurt while running and be behind me where I wouldn't see him? Rather than worrying, I decided to just run right with him and coach him along. Besides, this wasn't about me beating my last race time but about running this race with my 9 year old son.
Tyler started out aggressively but after running along side of me for the first mile, and listening to me say "find your pace" and "catch your breath" he assured me he was good to go. I stayed close behind him so I could keep my eye on him while letting him run on his own.
Tyler made friends with everyone he passed and kept looking over his shoulder to make sure he was far enough ahead of me. :)
As Tyler approached the finish, he was determined to be as far ahead of me as possible! (The woman in this photo is a friend he made while running the last mile or so.)
I finished (3.73 miles) at :36 and he was just before me! Not bad at all for Tyler's first road race. He was so proud and bragging that he beat his mom! :) When the winners from each age group were announced, Tyler was called as being the 2nd place winner for age 9 and under!
