Mzee's 1st Race

At the end of March, I started back into a regular fitness routine, working out about 5 days a week. We bought a used elliptical machine off of craigslist and I've been faithfully using it as we left our treadmill behind when we moved. I haven't done much jogging even though I have fond memories of running the 10k Corporate Cup Run for several years before kids. It was always such a motivating event. I saw an announcement for a 5k run at the Botanical Gardens and we agreed it would be a fun family outing. It was a brisk Sunday morning. I registered myself and entered Mzee in the children's race. They had bagels and juice which the kids loved and also had activities for the kids to do during the 5k. The kids fun run was perfect for Mzee. It was just a short loop and we could see him during the entire race. He did great and got a medal at the end of the race. He was so proud to receive the medal and tell us that he won the race!

Mzee running his first race!

Mzee with his medal

Milan in her shades

Once the kids race was finished, I got ready for the 5k race. I didn't reallly prepare and wasn't even sure of the race route. I started out and realized how hilly the botanical gardens are. It was a beautiful day with beautiful scenery. I ended up doing three laps of the race course, and probably finished dead last. That didn't matter much to me as I was just running as a benchmark of my time and to see if I could jog the whole thing, which I did. The best part of the entire day was that Mzee ran out from the finish line to meet me and run in with me! He literally ran into me and nearly knocked me down, but we finished the race together which was amazing. I realized also that this was a great example to him about how it is fun to exercise and have a sense of accomplishment from finishing something so challenging.