Saturday, September 27, 2008

RACE DAY

The morning started out a little bit crazy. We were to be at the parking lot by 8:15 to meet our friends and head down to the race. William (my alarm clock) slept in till 8:00! I guess I should really start using a real alarm clock. We scurried around, got dressed in our Race Day clothes and left the house...breakfast-less. I was faint (my blood sugar was low...it always is (an excuse to eat more frequently))by the time I got all three kids piled in the car, so I ran inside, grabbed a granola bar and drove off. Upon registering, the kids were given their Race Day T-shirts. They were sweet. A classic white with the race name on the front. Completely original. And Free. We all started out doing some stretches and warming up. A 1K isn't as easy as one might think.











It was finally time to line up. And then a mother's worst fear. "Mom, I'm hungry." I guess I forgot to grab snacks for the kids. I must not have been thinking about their blood sugar getting low. I unpacked the bottom of Naomi's car seat and fished through my purse. Perfect! A smushed granola bar and a bag of 100 calorie cheez-its. They were satisfied. After what seemed like hours...it was finally our turn. The kids lined up anxiously on the starting line. It was as if a years worth of training had built up for this one moment. The anticipation was almost unberable. The man's voice blarred over the loud speaker. "On your mark..get set...the kids flung forward as he yelled, GO." We were off. The start of the race was bumpy and Naomi almost flew out of her car seat, but that wasn't going to deter us from taking this thing head on. We had come to win. Moments into the race, Jake seemed to get tired. Soon after, William came running back to me in tears. It was too hard. I told them it wasn't an option to quit. We had come to race and we were going to finish. Afterall, if mom had to hold them...they wouldn't get a medal. William's mouth dropped as he gasped, "Oh." He was off. We were all panting when a nice lady started cheering us on. "You're already half way!" "What?" I said. A 1K can seem extremely long with three kids and no husband to help. After the medal comment, William never stopped running. He had a goal. Jake, on the other hand, was a different story. I picked him up and ran after William. We finally crossed the finish line. We had done it! Our Firsr 1K. As we crossed the finish, all three kids were handed a medal. We immediatley hit the Goody Bag line and found some super cool prizes and a bagel for breakfast. I will never forget looking over at William with his hands on his kness, and his head down panting. "That was hard, mom." I know dude...but you won a medal." He looked around him and in distress noticed, "Mom, it looks like everyone got medals."

We were exhausted. Perhaps, everyone did get a medal. Perhaps, we would have done better had our blood sugar not been so low. Perhaps, maybe if daddy would have been there to run super fast with the boys, Naomi and I wouldn't have slowed everybody up. Perhaps, a lot of things. But most important, our first race was a success. We did it! All four of us! Daddy will be so proud.


6 comments:

Ash and Joe said...

Jess

I love reading your blog. It makes me laugh and it is a very real and healthy attitude you have. I can tell you are truly happy. I am so happy to be able to say that. We are truly blessed beyond our understanding. How lucky are we? Love you babe.

lynnette orme said...

She ran her first race with a pink bow in her hair--what more can I say--a true Orme. ...and it matched her outfit. The kids hopefully know they have a great mom who would run with low blood sugar--if she can do that--she can do anything. Yes, William. Everyone does et a medal and everyone deserves one--matching or not. Love, Mom

Jo Ann Anderson said...

Your run sounds so similar as the fun run we did. The only thing that was missing was walking a mile to get to the starting line and all the kids needing to go potty right as we were about to line up. Way super cute pictures of Niaomi!!

Sarah Hastings said...

Yeah for running!! I am truly impressed with all you do. Oh, and the pictures of Naomi are adorable!!

Sarah C said...

Way to go! That is awesome. You are amazing!

The Johnson Family said...

I have called you like 30 times! I know you are busy, but seriously...where are your priorities? :)