Trolley Run

This morning we had the Trolley Run and we all had a lot of fun. I'll give you a recap of Aaron and my run, then I'll show you pictures of Henry's run. Aaron and I got to the starting line a little early and got in our respective places. We were in the green group, which was the third group. I was excited to enroll in this race knowing we were not in the slowest running heap. At the start line we had to wait a little, and that is when things get a little nerve racking. You stand still, amongst other very athletic people. I was getting a little cold and a little nervous. I wasn't scared that I wouldn't finish (like other races), this time I wanted to make a good time for myself. Everyone told us this was a good, easy, quick race and I wanted to do my best. When it was time to go, we took off with the big crowd. At first the pace was a little fast, but it settled down at my goal. I wanted the first mile to be 10:30 and then take it from there. I felt I could hold that pace for 4 miles if I needed to, but if I felt good I could decrease the pace. The first mile went quickly and we ended up with 10:37. I didn't know that during the race because I didn't hear the little beep and wasn't looking for it, but I guessed it to be that amount. The next mile we held it back a little, but got faster as we passed downtown Brookside. It was nice there because the road was getting bigger and it was easier to run the pace we wanted without having to weave as much. We finished this mile at 10:13 and I still felt good. We kept our fast pace from the end of the 2nd mile and just continued. I followed Aaron's lead a little. Toward the end of the 3rd mile I was getting a little tired, but not enough to change pace. We finished the next mile with the astounding pace of 9:38. I am not an under 10 minute runner, so after this I knew we were doing good. For the last mile, I did have to push it a little just to keep Aaron's pace, but it was a good amount of push. The type of push you should have for races. We were closing in the last quarter of the mile when I saw the finish line. I also looked at my watch and saw that we were close to finishing under 40 minutes, but i knew I had to push it, so I did. The last bit was about an 8:00 minute mile. I was starting to feel more uncomfortable, breathing hard and a little bit queasy (not too much). Then, the finish line was above us and the race was done. I looked down at my watch and saw 39:59. Yes!!! We did it. A great pace and we finished the race. It was better than I hoped and I loved everything. After our race was Henry's race, but there was an hour wait until it started. Henry was excited to start which made it a long, long hour. For his race there was a small area of grass designated for the little kids races (age 1-6). There was a path around the kids area for the older kids. They could go half around (~ 1/4 mile ) or all the way around (~ 1/2 mile). Henry wanted to race on the path, so we let him. We lined him up with the older kids and we were off. I ran with Henry the first time and he did great. The other kids quickly passed him, but it did not deter him. When he crossed the finish line he got a ribbon. Immediately he wanted to do it again. Aaron ran with him the second time and then we went home. All in all a good morning.

PS If you want to see more pictures, you can visit our flickr site at www.flickr.com/photos/henrywilliam