We returned this year to the Run 4 Love that is part of the Track Shack Running Series. And this year, we brought along the family. Nana came into town on Friday night so she could be there to watch the kids. This time though, we decided that all three of them would come with us and then the kids could run the kids' race after the 4 mile.
We weren't sure how Will would do as he has been having a bit of an attachment issue with me again lately and he asked me to run with him. When we got to the start line he was holding my hand pretty tight. We did some stretching with the coordinator for the kids' races (which he let go of me for) and then she called for the start. He took my hand and I told him that he would be faster if he didn't hold onto me but I would stay with him. When they yelled "Go!" he let go of me and took off. He turned once at the beginning to see if I was there and when he saw me, he just kept on going. He was pretty quick too. This was so different even from his first race when he actually turned around to go back and grab my hand to finish. The only slightly sad part was that we had a tech issue and didn't get a video of him. There will be more races though so I'm not too worried about that. Eventually he will be doing it all on his own.
We got everyone up at the crack of dawn (technically before) and were quickly on our way to Winter Park. Actually, with us moving around, both kids woke up on their own which helps because sometimes Will is a bear if you wake him up instead of letting him do it alone. Kenzie was up early enough to get dressed which helped. Otherwise we would have needed to change both kids when we got there so this was good. The drive there was quick and easy but we noticed immediately how foggy it was. That fog actually hung around for the majority of the run. It was pretty serious that morning.
When we got to the start of the race, we got Will dressed and then headed over to sign up both kids for the kids' run. After a quick bathroom visit and getting Nana all set up with the kiddos, Steven and I headed over to the start line. We weren't standing there two minutes when I got a call from Nana asking if the kids could get their faces painted. Sure! They were super excited and since everyone had mostly cleared out to get to the start of the race, there was no wait. Kenzie chose a princess thing and Will chose a cool design on the side of his head. Nana said he wasn't so sure, but once he saw a design that wasn't his entire face, he was all for it.
It wasn't too long before they sent off the person in the cool wheelchair that was racing and then set up to start the runners. We hit the start line and started out on the "flat and fast" course that this race boasts. Steven and I decided to stay together. Our first mile was tough for me but I stuck it out. While it was slow by Steven's usual standards, it was almost a minute faster than I typically go. I also usually run a 4:1 interval when I run alone but Steven runs the first full mile without walking which is what we do when we are together. He isn't as keen on intervals. Our first mile came in at 11:27. I had to ask to walk a bit after that because my calves were arguing with me about continuing to run. We walked a bit and then settled into intervals. We don't time them like I do usually but we run as much as we can before we need a short break to walk. Pretty typical for us.
When we were around 2 miles in, we saw the first males and first female coming down the final stretch (the course twisted back around and backtracked a bit). The first male finished in just about 18 minutes and the first female was 21:00 or so. Impressive. Nana said that they announced the guy that won has won almost all the races for the last couple of years (we recognize him from finish line photos) and his first mile split was just around 4:00. Color me impressed. Seriously.
Our 5k split was just under 40 minutes. When I saw the sign coming up for it, I told Steven we would run to the sign but then I needed another walk break. I refused to be slower than the 40 minutes for that split. Gotta work towards something. Haha! We both used to be faster overall, but I think a lot of it is that we haven't trained nearly as much in recent months as we should have because we have been off an on sick and ridiculously busy over the last couple of months. Hopefully we will get back into the swing of things some before we hit the seriously hot summer months that make it a bit harder to get out there as often.
When we were coming into the final stretch, we saw Nana and the kids waiting for us. Will and Kenzie were waving and jumping up and down. This actually may be the first race they have been at with us when they didn't ride in the stroller and I think they thought watching people finish was pretty cool. We ended up finishing in 51:14 which was a 12:42 pace (according to my watch). That was actually slower than both of us last year but I was still pretty proud of our time. We picked up our medals and water before we met up with Nana and the kids.
We got the kids all set up then to run the kids' race.
We weren't sure how Will would do as he has been having a bit of an attachment issue with me again lately and he asked me to run with him. When we got to the start line he was holding my hand pretty tight. We did some stretching with the coordinator for the kids' races (which he let go of me for) and then she called for the start. He took my hand and I told him that he would be faster if he didn't hold onto me but I would stay with him. When they yelled "Go!" he let go of me and took off. He turned once at the beginning to see if I was there and when he saw me, he just kept on going. He was pretty quick too. This was so different even from his first race when he actually turned around to go back and grab my hand to finish. The only slightly sad part was that we had a tech issue and didn't get a video of him. There will be more races though so I'm not too worried about that. Eventually he will be doing it all on his own.
Speaking of being alone... Kenzie's run was next. She is with the 5-6 year olds and since this wasn't a huge field of kid runners, they didn't split boys and girls. When they called for them to start, she took off. We figure it was maybe about .20 of a mile total (if even) and she did great! She never broke stride. She told Steven afterwards that she wanted to walk near the middle but said, "No! I'm going to run this!" And then she did. She did great! Going back to watch the video we took, I noticed her put on the gas near the end. She told me that there was a little girl in front of her and she wanted to be faster than her. She said she was just a second faster than her coming into the finish. We are going to be signing her up for the Smile Mile within the week. She is excited but I think a bit nervous. I can't blame her. I still get some nerves before the gun sounds and we start a race. She is going to do awesome though, I'm sure. And she LOVES training with us. Especially when Daddy takes her for her 1/2 mile run (which is how long her run is for the Smile Mile).
We are pretty proud of these kiddos. Our kids are active kids anyway, but this bit of running is definitely setting a strong foundation for them when they get older. We don't want to push them to anything they don't want to do or push distances on them that they are not ready for but these kids' races are so much fun for them and just the right distances. It takes a bit of training (on Kenzie's part) but that just further solidifies the foundation we want them to have.
Next up in the racing world, is the Smile Mile. Steven and I actually have just over a month break before we will be running the final race in the Track Shack Running Series, the Winter Park Road Race 10k. We will both be working on upping overall mileage over the next month and will hopefully finish strong at that one. We have never run it before as last year we did the Star Wars 10k with RunDisney around the same time instead of this one. We are excited for it though.
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