Homegrown Life: Race Day

Mike took part in the Greater Hartford Marathon for the third year in a row on Saturday. Unlike the last two years, where he ran the full marathon, this year he was only able to run the half-marathon. His knee had been bothering him for a bit and he didn't want to push it by running 26.2 miles on it, so... he opted to cut his run in half.

Well, as for his experience he happened to remark that the half-marathon is "Half the distance and twice the fun"! He (and I) were not nearly as anxious about the race in the days leading up to it and he (I mean I) was able to enjoy the day even more without the added negatives like complete exhaustions, muscle and joint pain and lying invalid on the couch.

Mike after the race... he felt good and although we missed him at the finish line (I mean who would be able to identify their own husband amongst a crowd of hundreds while simultaneously trying to tame a toddler and lift larger children over the gates to sneak a peek??) we met up with him nearby on a bench where we found him gorging himself on the delicious post-marathon food provided to the runners by Wild Oats.

Sophia and Nicolas ran their first "official" races on Saturday. They participated in the "Kids K" races and won medals, t-shirts and goody bags. They both ran the 50 yard dash and then Sophia also chose to run in the 1/4 mile. I was quite proud of all THREE of them!

Really, my kids are semi-athletic... despite the ridiculous pre-race stretching that they were attempting on the sidelines of the course! I think this was a combination of ballet and some form of popping/breakdancing. A riot.

The proud pair after their much-anticipated races. They had been talking about it for exactly ONE YEAR since we first learned about the kids races last year.

Bushnell Park was full of activities and vendors for everyone to enjoy after the races. Sophia attempted to climb the rock wall and did a great job for her first time.