RCU Charity Classic

I have entered the realm of competitive stroller racing.  I decided at the last minute to push Kaia in the stroller during the 10K event.  Kaia had a blast during the run.  She always does.  What better way to enjoy the race than to be bundled up in a blanket and watching the scenery pass by.  

 

We took first in the stroller division, just ahead of someone from Brookfield, Wisconsin, who really was pushing the pace in the last mile to try to beat me, but in the end I was the one who had the extra kick to accelerate to the finish.  I finished in 44:51, to finish 46th out of 441 and 15th out of 48 in my age group. 

Kaia was all smiles after the event, and so was I.

She's cute in the running stroller, and also cute posing after the race in my Boston Marathon running hat.

 Immediately after running the 10K, I ran a two mile race by myself.  I finished in 12:50, to finish 25th out of 419 and was 7th out of 24 in my age group. 

My favorite race of the day was the half mile race with my daughter.  She technically should have done the quarter mile race according to her age group, but I bumped her up to the half mile distance (you are welcome, Kaia).  She continues to amaze me in that she ran the entire distance without stopping once and did the half mile event in 8:12.  I guess I shouldn't have let her line up in the front of the race, because she got pushed over in the opening seconds and this led to her hurting her knees.  Crying as we started the race, she was passed by everyone but would not run to mom.  Instead, he held my hand and kept running after the kids who pushed her down.  She didn't catch them, but she caught a piece of my heart that day watching her determination to do this for herself.  I am so proud of my daughter and the work she does to participate in races and not give up.  We're in training because she will be eligible to run cross country in another nine years or so if she wants.  Dad just loves that she loves to run.  I'll keep encouraging her as long as I am able.

I'll always be by her side whether running a race or doing anything else in life.





Grinder's Biathlon

Grinders Bike Shop decided to hold a triathlon during Aquafest this year.  It was scheduled to include about 2.7 miles of canoe/kayaking and 1.7 miles of running.  It was a fun idea.  Unfortunately, it rained most of the morning hours until about 2 pm that day.  I am sure this rain scared off the hoards of people who would have thought to do this race.  I am not sure what the actual number of people who did this race was, but I could count them on two hands.  I think there were nine or ten people.  The river was pretty shallow, although in reality it was higher than usual for this time of year due to the rain.  I can't say there was much on the river for obstacles, but there were some logs here and there that caused some small rapids.  It was a horn start and everyone left from the area near the dam in Rice Lake at Holsum Riverside Park.  Participants then kayaked south until exit point.  I cleared the kayak portion first.

A buddy of mine, Brian Arnold, also participated in the race and left the water in second position.

A run followed the kayak portion that took participants up the Cedar Side Trail to the finish line behind the college.  A photographer snagged this picture that makes it look like I am about ready to fall over with exhaustion.  I really was doing fine.

A few moments of chaos ensued while they scrambled to figure out awards.  They had to sift through the times of the competitors.  Participants didn't know what to do.  I liked the white umbrella, showing that these race photographers weren't shorting participants from getting that ideal race picture.

Very cool awards were given.  The top three people were given certificates for merchandise and repair services in the shop.  I can always use that.  Lucky #7 finished in about 34 minutes today.  I must have been quick because the race organizer told me he finished just the canoe/kayak portion the day before in the same amount of time.  Grinders did a nice job organizing the event and hopefully it will continue to grow in future years.  I was first out of all the participants today.  Usually, my dad jokes that if I tell him I placed high in a race he says something like "were there only three people who showed up."  Well, today there weren't many more than that, but my dad will be able to laugh at his own joke after this race.

Haley's Comet Run

The third edition of the Haley's Comet Run was one quite different than last year.  My usual running buddy (my wife) had a meeting to help organize a Library event during Aquafest, so she was unable to see this event.  Being in her second trimester of pregnancy also wouldn't have helped.  I was left on my own for this.  Kaia participated in the kid's race and I must tell you that Kaia can hold her own at 3 years of age.  I don't know what possesses this girl to do what she does, but she ran the entire mile (that's right, the kid's race was a mile) without stopping.  You can see from the photo she had all sorts of energy and was even distracted by the crowd cheering her on.  What a cutie.  What an athlete.

 

Kaia's race went well, but dad found his time to be slipping over the last few times of doing this event.  I settled for a fourth place overall (out of 285) with a time of 19:40, four seconds away from third which was held by the race organizer's son, Cal Gerber.  Cal did a great job on the race.  The winning time was 17:57, so the all-time course record time continues to drop.  I would love to run a 17:57.  Perhaps some day I will be at that point.  I was lucky that we had some friends at the event to watch my daughter while I ran the race.  That way, my daughter could cheer me on at the finish.  I always love that.  A friend Christy Moravitz caught some nice pictures during the event which she allowed me to use.