Everyday Bibs

This past weekend the hooligans made me a proud mama. They ran their first race. They both ran the 1 mile course (there was also a half mile and a 2 miler) of the Marathon, Jr. They both literally ran most of the course too...as in no stopping for breaks. What? Awesome.

I think at first their daddy (who granted was planning to carry the ton-o-bricks that is Jericho on his back) was thinking I was a little ambitious with signing them up for the 1 mile course instead of the half mile. (Me? Ambitious with running? Where would he come up with that?) And then I started to think, uh oh...I don't wanna be that mom...the one who gets thrown out of her kid's soccer game. As a person who runs 20 miles at a time, I was guilty of thinking: "1 mile? Pshhhhhh." But we decided if nothing else, we would just enjoy a fast family walk. I didn't want to miss the fun of their first race by expecting them to race, ya know? I wanted them to have fun and hopefully grow to love being active as much as I do.

I'm thrilled to report that all three hooligans really enjoyed their first race, Tizzy (along with Billy and Jericho) ran the mile in about 15 minutes, and Merrick and I ran it in 11 minutes and change. I was pretty proud of both of them. They were pretty proud of themselves, which was even more important to me. Merrick's shining moment was when he passed "Spiderman" (a kid running in costume) and beat him to the finish. He is still telling everyone he is faster than Spiderman. ;) And Tizzy was pretty excited about the purple spray paint used to mark the course. To each his own, right? They all 3 got medals, and the older two are still carrying them around.

Another highlight? The race bibs. They didn't want to take them off, and asked me if they could have bibs everyday. (Be still, my heart.) I did manage to remove them (and those weapons known as safety pins) from their bodies without incident so that I could save them. But only after I showed them their packets they got for running, which included frisbees. It doesn't take much to make them happy.

This was an awesome family activity, one of which I hope there are many more in the future. Not just because I love to run, but because there are few things better than being able to watch and help your kiddos accomplish something they are excited about, whether it's a mile or a marathon.