Bianca has been taking a hiatus from running in order to hopefully heal a persistent "injury" in her calves. So the plan tonight was to take the girls, walk the course, enjoy the Christmas lights and have an overall good time.
The girls were so eager at the beginning of the race. They just couldn't wait to get started.
It was REALLY crowded and we were lined up in the VERY back with all the dogs and strollers. I had my jogger there for when the girls got tired. It took us nearly 5 minutes to cross the start mat, but when we finally did the girls were off.
At first I tried to keep up with the girls doing a light jog, but it was too hard with my jogger so I let them go ahead with Tracy. I really wanted to get pictures so Bianca and Julie urged me to go ahead and they kept my stroller. I figured they'd catch up to us as we slowed.
The girls kept a very consistent running pace, passing lots of people along the way. Before you knew it, I had broken a sweat and we were at mile 1.
Their spirits were still really high at this point and they were pretty excited about having completed a WHOLE mile. Soon enough we were at the first water stop and the girls were thankful for the refreshments.
After that water stop the walking breaks became more and more frequent and the girls would only run when someone was watching or cheering for them. I can't tell you how many times I heard, "look how cute they are" and "Oh my God, look at the tutus". Everyone on the course was so nice to the girls and they ate up all the attention.
Just before 2 miles some neighbors were offering some adult refreshments and I decided to partake. It tasted good at first, but then I got sick of carrying the cup and ditched it at the 2 mile mark.
Clearly our pace was slowing and the girls were obviously getting a little tired. The kept plugging away though and continued their walk/run method.
They had big plans to sprint to the finish line once they saw it. There was a point on the course, they were convinced that end would never come. I offered to piggyback the girls, but they both refused, insisting they could finish on their own.
I'm so proud that neither one of them gave up and pushed their little bodies to move through the full 3.1 miles. I don't think they even realize the significance of what they did. At just 5 and 6 years old, Isabel and Ella, respectively, completed their first 5K. I didn't do my first until I was over 30 years old. I'd say they're plenty ahead of the game. I'm so proud of each of them for never giving up.
I tried to get pictures of their big finish, but my camera wasn't cooperating quickly enough in the dark of the night. I'm pretty sure our finishing time was right around 54 minutes as it took us over 4 minutes to cross the start mat to begin with. Julie and Bianca finished less than a minute or so behind us with an empty jogging stroller. I told Julie she should have put Bianca in to cross the finish line. How epic would that have been. Another time perhaps.
None of us signed up for the timed run so there is no official time for us, but there are lasting memories. Like I said, we were there to look cute and have fun. Mission Accomplished.
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