Better Together!

If you read my previous post, you know that I planned on doing the Book It 5K solo this morning, because I thought Madi would be too sick to join me. As you can see from the pictures, it didn't quite work out that way.

After finishing up this morning's blog post, I got dressed, stretched, and went in to tell Madi (who was still sleeping) that I was leaving, and that she should stay home because she was so sick. This didn't go over well - at all. She INSISTED on going.

Reluctantly, I agreed that she could go, but wasn't optimistic for how the day would play out. I just hoped it wouldn't be a repeat of the first time I took her cross-country skiing (when she sat down halfway down the trail and declared she was done. Period.)

It was barely drizzling when we left the house. I, having almost no experience with outdoor events, placed WAY TOO MUCH trust in weather website predictions, and left my hat, rain jacket, and other gear at home. The first indication that this was a mistake was when, during the drive, my wipers couldn't clear the windshield fast enough to see clearly. By the time we reached the parking lot, it was a steady rain, but at least we could see.

I dug through the car's emergency kit, and came up with a couple of rain ponchos and a hat. Keep in mind that the car's emergency kit is NOT where we stash our most fashionable accessories. I ended up wearing a large blue poncho from the Smithsonian National Zoo covered in a bizarre mix of zebra stripes and animal sketches. You will not see photos of me wearing it here (or hopefully, anywhere). Madi had a nice, orange-tinted transparent disposable poncho, and a shockingly pink baseball cap with the Pink Panther on it, courtesy of Owens Corning Fiberglas insulation. 

We went inside the library to check in - no trouble there.  

Got our t-shirts, put on our numbers, and stood outside under the awning, waiting for the start.  By this point, it was still raining pretty steadily.  I took Madi by the shoulders, looked her in the eye, and asked her if she was sure that she wanted to do this, because it was going to be pretty miserable.  "Yes, Mama, I'm sure.  I REALLY want to do this."  (side note: I have no idea why she calls me Mama.  She came up with it on her own.  I certainly have never encouraged it.)

As you might guess from the weather, there wasn't a huge turnout for the event.  All of the smart people stayed home.  But, here we were, and we were going to make the best of it.  When they took us out into the street for the start, it seemed that we had been granted a reprieve - the rain had stopped.  While we stood and waited for the start horn, Madi told me that she had this all worked out.  She had a plan about how she was going to run this race.  Somehow, it involved a Webkinz horse...?  Whatever.

When the horn blared, we trotted onward and began our race.  I really, really tried to follow her lead, but, well, that didn't work out.  I simply can't sprint full-out for 50 feet, then stop and walk. We ended up with a compromise solution, with periods of jogging followed by brisk walking.  About a half mile into the run, the skies opened up again with a steady rain.  By this point, it didn't really matter much - we were already wet.

I have to say that I am really proud of Madi.  It wasn't fun, especially when we had to run through a big, deep puddle - it was on a trail, and there was simply no way around it.  There's something disheartening about running in wet socks.  Complaining was really kept to a minimum, on both our parts.  :)

After the second mile, she really didn't want to run anymore, but kept up a good walking pace.  It was kinda fun, doing something like this together, getting a chance to talk.  We ran the final stretch, and there were actually still some people at the finish to cheer us on.  (Later we were emailed the race results - official time 48:18, 74th and 75th out of 120 women.  I was 18th of 29 in my age group, Madi was 8th of 12 in hers.)

Here's Madi with her finisher ribbon and complimentary water bottle.  The dazed look is not just poor photography skills.  She really was that tired.

Once we got inside, we had to take a picture together.  I stole the hat, because I really don't wear wet hair very well.

They had some post race treats; we gobbled our banana and donut snack quickly, and headed out.  Maybe if it had been sunny, we would have lingered longer, but we were both so wet we just wanted to get home.

So, bottom line, composed several days after the race:  I am not a fan of running on real roads.  It hurts.  The next day my shins were sore, and I was walking funny.  Give me a cushioned treadmill, and I'll consider running as a hobby.  BUT - as an activity to spend some time with my daughter - it was awesome.  I will gladly put my body through that again if that's what she really wants to do.

I asked her today if she wanted to do another 5K, and she said "Yes!... but only if you can sign up for one that's on a sunny day."

I think we'll be doing this again someday.