Some of you may remember that the kids and I (and a family friend) were all training for the Pear Blossom together. (Here's some of our training photos.)
Well, the race was on Saturday.
Josh and Annie signed up for the one-mile run, Courtney Lee signed up for the three mile run (but ended up with the flu) and Cole and I signed up for the 10 mile race.
By the time we got down to the starting line of Annie's race, she was a big ball of nerves.
Once their race started, Coley and I took off running for the porta-potties (nervous energy for us too), thinking we'd make it back in plenty of time for them to finish the race.
By the time we made it through the porta-potty line though, they had already finished (which means I didn't get a picture of them crossing the finish line).
Josh Downs took this one of us afterwards though...
And I took this one...
And then it was time for Coley and I to get ready for our own race.
Cole and I had a plan to stop every three miles so he could catch his breath.
I guess he was just caught up in the excitement of the race though because he never even noticed when we passed the three-mile marker (or the four-mile marker for that matter.)
By the time we hit the five-mile marker, I said, "Congratulations Cole, you're halfway through the race already!" And then we stopped to grab a drink of water and to hit the porta-potties again.
At mile seven, Coley had a mini-meltdown, so we stopped alongside the road to rest and pray and talk.
The last mile was hard on him so I just let him set the pace and kept reminding him that this day was going to stand out in his mind forever - that no matter how many races he finished in the future, this one would be the one he'd remember the most since it was his first.
And it may just be the one I remember the most too; the race where I got to look over and see my 11 year old son keeping pace with me for 10 straight miles.
The finish line we crossed together.
We ran (no walking) the whole thing, minus those two short breaks in 1:49 (which is only 12 minutes longer than it took me to finish it on my own last year) and we placed 1118 and 1119 out of 1465 participants.
Cole was the 5th youngest kid to run it.
I'm pretty proud of you Taz (and you too Lightening Legs, Road Runner and Ninja-T.)
Tears!!! again!! Way to go Coley!!! Wooohoo!! and Annie!!! and you too Mama bear!!
Posted by: teresa b | April 16, 2012 at 11:27 AM
WOWZERS!! Congrats to your ENTIRE family!!
Posted by: borcherding | April 16, 2012 at 11:29 AM
Tears here too. So awesome that you could do this together. What a great memory this will be.
Posted by: Wendy | April 16, 2012 at 11:29 AM
THAT"S FABULOUS!!! I love seeing your whole family out & active. Great job to Cole & Annie, and OF COURSE- you!
Posted by: Amanda @ Click. The Good News | April 16, 2012 at 11:33 AM
Congrats to everyone for finishing the race! sniff
Posted by: Huyen | April 16, 2012 at 12:05 PM
That's just absolutely FABULOUS! Congratulations to Cole & Annie. And to Courtney Lee, too, because of all the training & commitment even though she couldn't race. Wish I had you as a source of encouragement right here! I used to run but have no confidence anymore. You're quite the source of inspiration; your kids are very fortunate they have you. They'll remember every bit of this someday!
Posted by: Colleen | April 16, 2012 at 12:22 PM
congrats! I think you'll ALL remember this one!
Posted by: Stephanie @ La Dolce Vita | April 16, 2012 at 12:40 PM
that is amazing.
Huge congratulations to you all!!!
Posted by: Ada | April 16, 2012 at 02:06 PM
That is awesome!!! Definitely inspiring!!! Great Job Annie, Coley and Mama too! I especially love the part where you stopped and sat and prayed. Those are the moments that mean the most to our kids I think.
Posted by: Jen | April 16, 2012 at 02:20 PM
Cole is adorable! You have such an amazing family. Please congratulate Cole for his incredible feat!
Posted by: Jacki | April 16, 2012 at 02:24 PM
AWESOME!!! Congrats to you all! YAY! And go Cole!
Posted by: Tanya A | April 16, 2012 at 02:34 PM
I am so ABSOLUTELY proud of all of you! This post made me cry - you guys are amazing!
Posted by: SusanC | April 16, 2012 at 03:21 PM
I cried...so proud of all of you!!! :)
Posted by: Leslie | April 16, 2012 at 03:25 PM
You guys did great! Well done Cole!
Posted by: young nanny | April 16, 2012 at 03:37 PM
Congrats to all of you, and a very special congrats to Coley!!!
Posted by: Mary Ann Jenkins | April 16, 2012 at 04:44 PM
i cried. so awesome!
Posted by: Susan | April 16, 2012 at 04:52 PM
WTG! That is so awesome-congrats to you all for your accomplishments!
Posted by: Kelliann | April 16, 2012 at 05:48 PM
You all "rock"! YEA!
Posted by: janel | April 16, 2012 at 05:53 PM
That is so awesome. Almost made me cry. So proud of you both!!!
Posted by: Shonna | April 16, 2012 at 06:08 PM
Fabulous family experience, (Courtney Lee gets credit for her courage to train & prepare for the event)
What a positive example you are setting for your children to live healthy & active lifestyles.
hmmm....are you going to put a half marathon on the calendar soon or maybe another triathlon?
You are a source of encouragement & inspiration to many who follow your blog Karen, may God bless you.
Posted by: Shelly | April 16, 2012 at 06:16 PM
OMGoodness - that is truly inspiring and amazing! Congratulations to your entire family.
Posted by: Heather C. | April 16, 2012 at 06:31 PM
Girl, you are looking great! You always look beautiful, but you look especially great in these photos! Congratulations to all of you!!
Posted by: Nikol | April 16, 2012 at 09:44 PM
Bonza effort you three xxx
Posted by: Diane | April 17, 2012 at 05:15 AM
that boy of yours sure is incredible. and his momma is equally great. you're lucky to have eachother.
i started running on march 10th. i started the couch to 5k program and decided to run every day. yesterday i ran my first 10k. and around mile 2 i remembered this post and how you talked coley though it. what a great experience. you, along with many others, inspired me to buy some running shoes and attempt running for maybe the millionth time in my life. this is the first time i've ever made it past the third run. thanks for being an inspiration. i'm hoping to run a half. i'm not sure when... i'll do it. i will.
Posted by: Tess Smith | April 17, 2012 at 05:15 AM
SO inspiring to read this today! The tears are flowing and I am just SO proud of all of you guys. Way to go!!
Posted by: Katie J | April 17, 2012 at 05:31 AM
What a great accomplishment!!!!!!!! This is AMAZING!
Congratulations to all of you!!!!!!
Posted by: Jeane | April 17, 2012 at 06:45 AM
Inspired. . . .tears. . . you make me want to create these awesome memories with my kids.
Posted by: Sharla | April 17, 2012 at 11:21 AM
So awesome Karen and Family!!!
Ours sons ran with hubby and I all through their teen years. Some of our very best family memories are from trainingg and running races together. I was a bawling idiot when hubby and son (then 16) ran son's first full marathon together every step of the way. What an incredbile thing to share with your Dad!
Hope you have many more family races together.
Posted by: Beth | April 17, 2012 at 06:57 PM