Run Like A Mother 2017

Last year Sadie & I participated in Run Like a Mother on Mother's Day weekend & I quickly decided I was going to make it an annual tradition. I signed up months ago & this year I recruited a few friends. Jamie & I try to meet when we can & run in the mornings before the kids wake up but we have never ran a race together, until this weekend. The kids were so excited when we took them last week to go pick up our race packets & they had their matching race shirts & bibs on when we got there:

The children's race is first & it is 1 mile, so we knew the big kids could easily do it but didn't think the little ones would make it so we let them make posters so they could cheer their big siblings on:

We couldn't help but take a ton of pictures because it was such a fun morning. Here we are at the starting line ready to race:

and then they took off. Literally, Sadie took off so fast I couldn't even keep up with her! I mean I could have but I would have been tired for my race :) I quickly realized she didn't need me & she was old enough to go on her own, so I let her follow the others & I went around & cut the course to meet her at the end. Jamie stayed with her kids & they were behind her so I knew she would keep an eye on her. By the time I caught up with her, she said her stomach hurt & looked like she was ready to give up, so I think she might have started off too fast, but I told her to just slow her run & she would finish strong. And that she did. As soon as we made our last turn & she saw the finish line, she sprinted to the end:

She ran it in 10 minutes & 2 seconds & placed 9th place for her division, which was females under 12 years old. Of course she was the youngest :) She definitely beat last year's time & I could not have been more proud of her strength & determination!

And I was proud of Byron & Tatum for rocking their first race also:

Bryan said sweet Sophie cried because she thought she was going to run, so I have already promised her that next year she can join us:

The kids were exhausted but they perked up when they got snacks & drinks afterwards:

Next up, it was our turn to run the 5k without them. Bryan took this picture of us starting the race & I love it because you can tell we started in the back & had to fight the crowd to get out front. And you can tell I was adjusting my watch to make sure that my Garmin was working:

The weather was perfect & I ran a personal best since having children:

Jamie did great also & was right behind me. We usually run together & talk the whole time so it's amazing how much faster our times were when we actually ran with music & saved our breath! Thanks again for running this weekend Jamie - I am proud of both of us & look forward to more of our early morning runs without the kids:

Shortly after, our friend Danielle crossed with her girls Daisy & Dottie:

She is a long distance runner so this was a short race for her but she pushed a double stroller, so I give her props! This race reminded me that I love to run, but honestly 5k's are fine with me. I have no desire to run any more than 3 or 4 miles. I don't have to train, worry about getting hurt or get bored.

My favorite part was watching these cuties cheer us on from the sideline:

Especially these 2 cheerleaders:

They keep me motivated to stay healthy & active. I love to work out for a variety of reasons, but honestly, I didn't run much until after Sadie was born. And now I can't stop & I hope it's a healthy habit that both of the girls pick up after seeing both of us run.