Running Buddy

Cole and I ran our first official race together last weekend, and it was so much fun! My elementary school puts on a 5K every year to raise money for our arts program, so I excitedly filled out my registration form and entered. I really love to run, it's something I discovered while living in the avenues and becoming friends with a Boston-marathon-running-supergirl who opened up this whole new wonderful world. My dad also runs marathons, so he also played a part in getting me hooked. I'm not diehard, I only own one pair of good running shoes that actually should be replaced, and I've never even tasted gel or gu. But I love it because, a)it's the first time since college that I've REALLY felt challenged physically (don't be deceived, labor and delivery is in a class by itself) and I love the feel of accomplishment that comes with finishing a long, hard run where you wanted to quit a hundred times but didn't, b) I feel more healthy when I run, and c) being outside with nature early in the morning has an almost spiritual feel to it and really centers me. Tyler runs too, and I'm excited that he starts his marathon training tomorrow (he's doing Park City with my dad, I'm doing the half. We're also doing the 4th of July half-marathon if anyone wants to join us!)

Anyway, so I ran the 5K on Saturday and I really wanted Cole to be a part of it. We have this awesome jogger that Tyler got me a couple weeks after Cole was born, it really rocks. I prefer it to the stroller any day. But, it didn't come with a rain cover and that was a drawback on Saturday. Because a huge storm rolled in about an hour before the race started and didn't let up until later that afternoon. At first I was bummed, I wasn't sure if I wanted to have to worry about Cole getting soaked the whole race, but then Tyler convinced me he would be fine and let's just bundle him up in a garbage sack and see how he does. So we did, and he did great! We just stuck him in there with a blanket, put his raincoat on, cinched up the drawstring and hit the road. He loved it! His little face was getting a little spray at first, but he was just sticking out his tongue trying to feel the rain. And then he fell asleep half-way through, and didn't wake up until about a half-hour after we finished the race. What a guy!! Here we are leaving the shelter of our warm home to walk over to the race, you can't tell but it's raining behind me. Cole is excited for an unexpected morning jog.


Here he his, ready to race! One of my first graders that saw us was really concerned that I was going to throw Cole away in the big trash can out back. I had to reassure him that we were not, and then took the teaching moment to introduce a new vocabulary word: improvise :)
This is my great friend/co-teacher Shanna and her daughter Ellie. We share a class together (she teaches mornings, I teach afternooons) and we also watch each other's kids while the other is teaching. We also ran and finished together! She's amazing. This is right before the race, I can tell because we're still mostly dry.

Not very clear, but Tyler snapped this right as we went by the house before he had to go to work. We finished with a great time and were soaked to the bone. It was such a fun day.