Kingwood Bridge Fest 5k

What a day!!!

I'm not sure if the year was 1999 or 2000, but that was the year I ran the first race of my life. The race was the Kingwood Bridge Fest 5k, which I ran with Hugo. This morning I found myself at the start line with my 7-year old daughter, who was about to run her first 5k race at the exact location where I ran my first race. Some people might not understand, but this was very special to me.

Alison has been BEGGING me to run a distance longer than the typical "kid fun run" (1-mile or less). After listening to her plead her case for months, I finally decided to let her run a 5k. All week she has been excited, almost like it was the week before her "first marathon".

The experience was so amazing I'm struggling to put the moment into words. Running with Alison is like nothing else we have done together. To simply say I'm proud of her is an understatement. She did everything I asked and met every expectation. Alison was able to properly seed herself at the start line and she held a consistent pace. During the last half mile she struggled, but she NEVER gave up. Today was the first time I've seen her work that hard for something she wanted. I felt her pain as I listened to her grunting out loud to finish.

TODAY WAS HER MARATHON.

The only thing that put a damper on her run was the finish. I didn't want the feeling to end, but it did. When we finished I found myself with another issue. Let me try to explain. The kids race(s) took place before the 5k. We watched from the sidewalk as ALL the kids received a finisher's medal. When Alison finished the 5k, the only thing she found at the finish line was a guy willing to take the timing chip off her shoe. I could tell she was sad. She wanted something tangible to show that she had accomplished something HUGE. Alison was even hopeful that she would place top 3 in her age group, but the age bracket was tough. She ran in the 12 and under bracket. Unfortunately for her there were a lot of middle school kids at the 5k, so she didn't stand a chance competing against kids 5-years older than her.

Andrea, being the wonderful woman she is, was the hero of the day. She walked Alison to the YMCA desk and asked them if they had any extra finisher medals. As luck would have it they happily gave Alison a medal. Later we learned she didn't place in her age bracket. In her defense, I didn't see any other girls her size finish before her. She deserves to feel special and I know she was one of the fastest 7-year old females on the course.

I have every intention of throwing her a small party to celebrate her accomplishment. Again, let me explain. An exceptionally emotional moment for me was watching her slowly walk by the awards table and stare at each of the trophies with a special light in her eye. At that moment I would have sold my soul to the devil to see her win one of those trophies. I can honestly say I was chocked-up by watching her. I suppose in due time she will win more trophies that I can buy, but no one ever said I was patient. It's a glorious feeling to be a dad, but sometimes it is really hard.

Alison
5k
33:41
10:40 pace

Bill
5k
33:42
10:40 pace

Andrea and Josh also ran this race. Andrea said she was going to "push" herself and see what kind of pace could manage. Also debuting at the 5k was my friend Josh. He wasn't chip timed due to registering on race day, but he was about 100-yards in front of Alison.

Andrea
5k
26:51
8:30 pace

The times above are estimates (the best I can recall). The times were posted at the YMCA, but I can't find them online.

I took a couple pictures when we got home and I will post them soon.

Later that afternoon Andrea and I biked 3.5 miles to Alison's baseball practice. Alison had a great practice. When she was done, I stole a bunch of hugs & kisses from her. From there Andrea and I biked back home. At home we hit the gym.

Upper body workout.

Oh, forgot to mention. I also had a great run. My legs had a lot more in them, but my dad duties superseded my desires to run faster.

It was an "Athletic Day".

It doesn't get any better than this!!!