Go, Dad!

Last night was a big night out for us. Last night we all went down to Stewart Park, in Ithaca for the Twilight 5k Road Race. The race began at 7:00 and took a loop through the park, next to Cayuga Lake, and back to the Ithaca High School where the race began.

I convinced my office buddy to join me in this competition with a, "come on, it will be fun." I enlisted two of our brand new officers to come with us with the promise of beers at the finish line. I then turned to Lisa - the last to know - to come out.

This turned out to be no small task. In order to race at 7:00, we needed to be at the track by 6:30. In order to be at the track we needed to be in the park by 6:00. Of course we needed to get Sam, bring Linda (Lisa's sister visiting from Missouri), and run to the car dealership. In other words, our little trip to the park has us leaving the house at 4:00.

Lisa, ever the perfectionist, was just not ready to make such a long, public appearance. And it showed. The baby was hungry, we didn't bring enough food, TJ was fussy. Too much, too soon. Yet, Lisa put on a good face to everyone but me, and went along.

The race began and I got the bug. I have been running in 5k, 10k, and even 15k races for almost 13 years. Nothing exceptional, just fun to challenge myself. In my "prime" I finished in the top 10% of my age group and even place third in my age group - once. Each time I get on the start line I get that same adrenaline rush to want to go. I mean GO! I apologized to my friend and the LTs that I wasn't going to run with them as a group. The gun sounded and I tore off.

In the middle of the race I came through the park and their was my very own cheering section; Lisa, Samantha, Linda, and the Miller family all yelling for me to run. Since I had just been passed by a woman with a few years on me, I felt compelled to move faster. I looped through the park and they were still there waving and taking the above picture.

As I left them for the last mile and a half, Samantha's voice was loud and clear, "Go, Dad!". My family was there for me. It lifted my spirits and my pace for the rest of the race.

I finished a not-too-shabby 21:19 for 3.1 miles - just a smidge under seven minutes per mile (and 7th for my age group). The others finished in their own times and we went back to the park for food, beers, stories, and sweaty hugs.

Go, Dad!