I think I’ll take a break now.

Another weekend, another 5K. And this time Elise to ran it with me! It’s always more fun when you have a partner to go through the pain with. Right now my only other running friends are very pregnant, so I’m usually a loner at these events. Not this time!

The morning was a little rough. I felt like every time I went to get for something, it was nowhere to be found. For a control freak like me, this was maddening. I don’t lose things! Seriously, one of my shoes, my watch, my ipod strap, the kid’s shoes. . . After looking around the house the fourth time over, I was pretty on edge. The kids’ attitude weren’t helping either. It had been a rough week for all of us. I wasn’t sure if the frustration would help of hurt me in the race. Anyway, I took some deep breaths, was finally able to calm my nerves, and we set out around 7:30.

The boys dropped us off and took the kids to a park that was on along the course so they could cheer us on while we were running. It was a very small, kind of unofficial race, but there were some enthusiastic participants, and the course was beautiful, so it was fun all the same. It was pretty hard for me, I won’t lie. I know a 5k isn’t much of a run, but I hate when I already feel the pain coming on in the first half mile. But I pushed through anyway to see if there was any hope of improving my time from the previous weekend.

(Thanks for the action shots, Jeff!)

Things were going well, and I could feel the finish line coming closer, when I felt my shoelace untie. The one with my timing chip tied to it! It was still barely holding on as I tried to give the last half mile everything I had. It was pretty dramatic, as my eyes went back and forth from the blurry finish line in the distance, and the chip as it got closer and closer to the end of my shoe lace. In the last few yards, I just ran hard without any thought my chip. I crossed the finish line at top speed, looked down, and there was no chip. Guess where it fell off. Right on the edge of the finish line. Ha! Drama, I’m telling you! The main reason I didn’t want it to fall off mid-race, was because I didn’t want to have to track it down afterward. They like to have those chips back, so I didn’t want to be the one to lose mine. I didn’t really care about it recording my official time or anything, because I was watching the clock myself (there wasn’t a starting mat). The time I saw on the clock as I crossed the line was 25:10, a whole 45 seconds faster than last week, thanks to the lack of hills, I’m sure. The girl collecting the chips asked me if I had one, and I told her it fell off. I think she was a little miffed, but I found it a moment later, so all was well. But it just figured that it fell off right before the spot where it was to record my time. But it must have been recorded, or no one came in before I found the chip, because I still got first place in my age group! Don’t get too excited, there were only about 7o participants in all, but hey, I got a cute flower pot out of it, so why not be a little excited. The food was awesome. Platters of Panera breads and pastries, little cakes, and fresh fruit. I think the schools have a way of getting the best sponsors. It is for the children, after all.

KC said the kids were a bit of a handful. That is something they know how to do well. But they were adorable as I passed them. Ruby ran after me for a little while with her arms out saying “I wanna huuug!!” And I heard Bennett crying for me, and Alex saying, “It’s mommy!”. They got to play at some fun parks, and enjoy some post-race treats, so I think they had a good time.

I’ve decided it’s time to take a little break from races. I’ve been wiped out too many weekends this past couple of months, and haven’t been able to get much on my long lists done. And I think it will also be a while before I care about setting any new personal records. To keep racing fun, I won’t be pushing myself too hard in the future. So I’ll let this be race it for a while, and maybe start back up after the hot summer months have passed. I’ve still got my boot camp to keep me motivated!

(I have a talent for making jumping pictures pretty dorky. In my defense, I was trying to keep my shirt from revealing my beautiful post-triplet stomach. I think I’d make too many people jealous. (Ha!))