I couldn’t be more proud. My Peanut ran in his first organized race this past Saturday (and made it in the paper). It was 200 feet for the 4-year-olds. I originally asked if he was interested about a month ago and the glow and wide smile that came over him were signs that he certainly was interested. I didn’t hesitate signing him up with that enthusiasm. The last thing I want to do is force an active lifestyle upon him lest he resent and act against it later on. We’re doing things the natural way. I just try to be a good role model and have fun with exercise. It’s a normal part of our everyday routine. And he’s really picking up on that. His cousin seems to like running too:

I don’t see the official race results yet, but that’s ok. He finished in about the middle of the pack. A good place to be, I think. A place that’s humbling and a source of pride all at the same time. He got a medal at the end that he showed off to everyone after the race, including vendors at our local indoor farmer’s market  that we hit up after the race. Haha!

I am so proud of that boy.

Hubster and I ran the coinciding local 5k on Sunday with our pit bull. I came in at 29:11 (in the middle of the pack too). Hubster and Pupster at 40:05, ranking #5 in their division. Hubster was coercing our pup to sprint to the finish line by telling him to “get the squirrel.” Hee! This has become a tradition for our family to run this local race. John and I have been running it together for the past several years, even setting up training running dates in the past. Last year was atrocious because we were suffering the aftereffects of food poisoning. This year, it was pretty darn chilly, but I felt pretty good throughout the race. We’re just glad to now include our Peanut in our yearly tradition.

You can see my Pupster and Hubster (white shirt) in the upper right corner of this picture:

Photo credit: Jeannette Merten for the Oshkosh Northwestern

It’s quite an amazing event to take part in. Especially considering the tragedies that happened in Boston this past week. It gave me goosebumps to participate in a run of this magnitude mere days after such a horrific event. But those cowards do not have the power to take away the satisfaction that comes with training hard, finishing races and the genuine camaraderie that the running community share. In fact, I think those monsters have made the running community stronger.

It was a good weekend:)