Cole's First 1K Race

Last Sunday Cole participated in The Top Pot Donut Dash at Greenlake, his first 1K race.

Here is some pre-race stretching, because Cole knows the importance of loosening up before a run.

Right before the race started, I realized that the kids' course ran right along a busy road.   I immediately started imagining how Cole might spot a shiny little bug in the middle of the road, abandon his run to go inspect it, and get squished by a car.  So Grampa and I decided to run with him.  Even though I wasn't planning on running with Cole, I'm so glad that I did because I got to see how speedy he actually was.  He shot out like a rocket, and Grampa and I actually had to work to keep up with him!

And we're off!

Obviously since I was running with Speedy Gonzalez himself, and I actually had to fight to keep tabs on him, I wasn't able to get any pictures.  But here are Cole and Grampa crossing the finish line (and that's me in the corner jumping and cheering for Cole)!

This, by far, was the absolute coolest thing about the race.  STORM TROOPERS!  I was so excited when I spotted them, that I marched Cole right over to them and starting snapping pictures.  The Storm Troopers weren't  friendly AT ALL, but I just attributed it to the fact that they're on the dark side of the force. I actually discovered after the race, that they were there to run in the 5K, and not to amuse Cole and I.  I mean, if you're going to dress like a Storm Trooper, you best come prepared for mothers of 6 year old boys to go completely crazy on you and demand pictures of you.  Come on!  Be nice already!  (I really did believe they were there to promote the race, but even if I had known that they were there just to run, I still would've accosted them for the photo op!)

After Cole finished up, Grampa and I ran the 5K. Now, when you read the words "Grampa" and "ran", you might picture a little old man with a cane and bifocals shuffling his slippered feet and hobbling his way down a path.  BUT NOT THIS GRAMPA!  He was all pumped up to run 9 minute miles, which got me all pumped up (although I had my doubts).  So we lined up with the 9 minute milers, started the race, and guess what?  We finished the race in just over 28 minutes.  That is fastest I have ever run in my life, thanks to Grampa for being the fitness dyanamo that he is!  Here is our post-race family photo.  Look at those victorious faces!

Afterwards, Cole took some time to appreciate the beautiful scenery of Greenlake.

 



The only little hiccup for the day happened during the awards ceremony.  The top three male and female finishers won trophies.  Well, Cole was just beside himself that grown-ups, who don't even need trophies, would get them instead of the kids.  I mean, really and truly, he was severely put out by the absolute unfairness of it all.  He did get a ribbon, but clearly that's just not as cool as a trophy.  Maybe next time, Cole.

Next week, Chad, Grampa, and I will be running the Cinco de Mayo 5K race through Intel. Stay tuned for the respective blog post.