Race Day

One cold evening last March, AP came home and told me he registered for the Twin Cities Marathon.  I was not surprised, as AP often comes home with some pretty outlandish ideas (remember Prose Park?? or the curling/rollerskating rink??).  I was not surprised when he went out and bought fancy, new running gear, or when he printed out a training program.  I didn't even flich when he actually did some running.  What stunned me was when, three weeks later, he was still running.  Yesterday, after months of training, AP ran his first marathon. I can honestly say, I have never been more proud.  I spent a lot of time holding my breath, and back the tears.  Unfortunately, I didn't take my camera - so below are pics from my phone.  Fortunately, my bestie is a fantastic photog, so more pics to come.

 The day began with bundling up the kiddos.  It was chilly, but the sun shone brightly.  A perfect day for a run.  With 10,000 of the 11,000 runners wearing white shirts, it was difficult to spot AP, but the chip in his shoe sent us text updates.  Bennett cheered on the runners by screaming, "You're super fit!!"  "Lookin' good!"  and my favorite "Hey, have you seen my Daddy??"

 We saw #3871 at mile 14, and he was looking good.  He threw us his gloves, as he ran by.  Most of the race he spent with GnR, but he did find some time to chat with a lovely women who  gave him a boost of energy at mile fifteen.  His foot started to get sore around mile seventeen, and he ended up walking a few minutes; especially up the big mile eighteen hill. 

 Thanks to Colie & T for the co-parenting, and Wes, Rita and the Krueger family for the cheering  section.  If you missed it - He finished strong.  He looked good.  And, he'll do it again.