Vacation=2 Races so Far

I won't have pictures to add to the blog until we return home, but I thought I'd add a little update.


We went to Albuquerque and completed a 1/2 marathon with a great group of five--Jon, me, my mom, my sister Robin, and my friend Jen. It was a really neat experience, and my first time, doing a race with a group. Robin raced on ahead of us all, champ that she is. The rest of us stuck together for about the first 10 miles. Jon then jogged the last three miles--AND SURVIVED!! It was awesome to cross that finish line with my mom (such an inspiration to be challenging herself in such a tough way) and Jen (who is already thinking of what her next challenge should be). The weather was perfect, and the race will go down as a special moment in all our hearts.


After the race, we drove about 6 hours to Colorado Springs to stay with Jon's mom. We again got up before the sun to head out to a race. Jon's knee was bothering him, but he still managed a triumphant 5K--his first. His sister also did that race, so there was more family race-bonding. I started before they did, and finished long after. It was my fourth half-marathon, my second one in two days. I survived just fine, but realized later in the day that I should have done some research about how many calories you should consume to recover from one 13.1 mile race and prepare for another on the same day. I sent Jon out for an emergency smoothie before lunch so that I wouldn't pass out.


Brishen and Basia also got in on the race action this morning, along with their 3-year-old cousin, Gretchen. They had kid events to the tune of a 1/4-mile and 1/2 mile. I was talking to Basia about the race last night, since I knew I would still be completing my race and would not be able to talk her into running if there should happen to be an evil starter pistol. I was telling her to be brave for her cousin's sake. I told her that she didn't have to win it-that she should just have fun. She replied, "But mom, I WANT to win it. I WANT to be the fastest one." Don't we all. However, when it comes to Basia, she has the natural-born talent to follow through. Jon told me that there was an adult leading the kid races. The kids were to follow him to the finish line. Jon explained that to Basia and that she should chase him and try to catch him. She chased him so hard that he kept having to look back and increase his pace to keep ahead of her. She won the 1/4 mile by a long-shot and got many remarks about her style and speed. Her grandma thinks she will be in the Olympics one day. Of course, she has to get over that fear of starter-pistols first.


Brishen did the 1/2 mile. He did a one-mile kid's race on Thanksgiving of last year and pushed himself way too hard to keep up with the leaders. He got a medal in his age group, but he felt miserable and did not enjoy the experience. This time he paced himself better (after the same speech from me that Basia got) and had lots more fun. He told me about five finished ahead of him and the rest behind, so he was happy with his results, and, more importantly, enjoyed the race. Hopefully he is learning from his dear old mom that racing is not about the winning. Basia can win them if she wants, but the rest of us mortals have to enjoy the journey or the challenge instead.