September 12th was the Seattle Aflac Iron Girl race. This was the second year my daughter and I have participated as a mother/daughter team. This was my daughter's second 5K race, last year's Iron Girl being her first and just like last year, we had a super fun time! The two of us drove down the Saturday before for the expo. I hate driving into Seattle and especially around Greenlake but it really wasn't all that bad. We found parking on a side street fairly easily. Since parking had been my big worry (I can't parallel park for the life of me) once that was out of the way I was able to relax. The lines were massive but fortunately, moved somewhat quickly. Once again, this race spoiled us rotten. They loaded us up with free goodies and we got our little stuffed Aflac ducks. My daughter was especially thrilled to see the ducks had tiny removeable running jackets. She also loved her reusable goodie bag and has used it multiple times in the weeks following the race. I was shocked when we stopped by a booth selling running slogan t-shirts and she begged me for one that read, "I love running. I hate running."
"That's me!" She said.
"Really?", I asked. "Sometimes you love running?"
"Yes," she replied with a grin. "And sometimes I hate it."
I bought her the shirt.
Sunday morning our family woke up bright and early, made a breakfast stop by Starbucks and drove back into Seattle. The park was overflowing with women and I do believe I saw more little girls this year than last. My son immediately hit the playground (a nice perk of having the race start at Greenlake park) and we took a few photos while we waited for the start.
This year they had us line up, start and race a different course from last year. Last year we basically ran the inner path around the park. This year it took us on the outer loop and on the roads. I liked this option much better. We didn't have to dodge as many people who weren't out for the race and it allowed us to run on soft ground as opposed to asphalt. Since I've been healing up from a shin injury this was a nice surprise for my legs.
But onto the main enjoyment of the day for me - running with my daughter! Last year she ran about the 1st mile straight and then spent a good portion of the remaining miles walking. We finished in 44 minutes and some odd seconds. This year she ran 1.5 miles straight before taking a short walk break, as in, just a few seconds. She continued the rest of the race in this manner ... running a few minutes with a short walk break of 30-60 seconds. I followed her pace, walking and running at her discretion. It was so thrilling to see her determination. I saw the previously purchased t-shirt sentiment on her face. She was loving the thrill of the race and the satisfaction of knowing she could conquer this thing and conquer it well.
We sprinted across the finish line in 38 minutes 22 seconds. We came in so much faster than her last year time that her dad and brother missed us at the finish line. We waited for 10 minutes at the finish for them to find us with no sighting.
Finally, we walked around in search of them thinking perhaps, they were waiting for us to find them. We located them on the other side of the finish chute still gazing off in the distance at the runner's coming in. We knew then they had missed us. We got their attention and noted their surpised looks and then the guilt on my hubby's face. Oops! He snapped a photo of us from across the way.
Lucky for us the pro's got a good photo of us as we came across the finish line together in perfect synch. Yes, I have permission to post it on my blog. :)
That and this next photo really sums up the day for us. We had a great time and can't wait to do it again next year! Thanks Aflac Iron Girl for a great mother/daughter experience!
