Let’s run a 5K on New Year’s Day, they said. It’ll be fun, they said. And they were right.

The race started the night before with an 11:30pm text from NuhNuh. “The race starts at 9:30, not 11!” Whoops! We had an old copy of the race registration, which had the wrong time for the 2014 race. I set an alarm and didn’t worry about setting out race kits for all of us the night before. That’s a first for me.

I woke up around 6:30am to a quiet house. I tiptoed out to the kitchen and started the Keurig. I put bibs on race belts and made peanut butter toast. I pooped…a pre-race must. And then I roused my fellow race companions.

The weather was forecast to be perfect for a January road race. Right at about 30 degrees…no wind until later in the afternoon. I picked tights under shorts, a short sleeve tee under a lighter long sleeve top, my mid-weight headband from my SIL, and my Saucony wind gloves, also from the SIL. She likes me to be warm when I run.

The Frosty 5K is run to benefit the Wichita YMCA fund various projects throughout the year. And since it’s the YMCA, the race started with some pre-race Zumba. I’m a runner…I don’t Zumba. But I enjoyed watching and clapping…and giggling with Brown, who also moaned, “I’m a runner…I don’t Zumba.” Gotta love that kid!

And then we were off. It was a route very similar to the Mustache Dash and included the loop around Exploration Place, which I always enjoy. I kept a nice easy 11min/mile pace. Brown and NuhNuh stuck with us, but Brown was struggling in the cold air. He had just gotten over a bout with his cough-variant asthma. He and NuhNuh fell back and ran together. Daddy Man and I ran side by side, skipping over ice patches and goose poop. We saw Brown and NuhNuh right behind us on the turns and whooped and hollered along with all the YMCA people who learned Brown’s name at registration. NuhNuh said she had trouble keeping up with him, because every time someone would holler his name he would turn on the jets.

We kicked it up to a 10min/mile pace for the last half mile or so. Daddy Man and I crossed the finish line holding hands. No better way to start 2014, which will be a year of running and racing for me and my man. Brown and NuhNuh sprinted to the finish as well…no need to teach that kid how to kick at the end.

Daddy Man and I finished at 33:48 and Brown and NuhNuh finished at 35.47. I was very comfortable the entire time. This was an easy run pace for me. Maybe I need to add some speed work back in to my weekly runs.

*edit*

Daddy Man just reminded me that we realized much later in the day that he got 1st in his AG! We usually hang around for a bit to see if Brown medals, because he usually does if the youngest age group is 9 and under. This race had the youngest age group end at 14, and those kids are FAST. We don’t usually think that Daddy Man or I would podium. But Daddy Man did! The Y is mailing his medal to our branch, so I will post a picture as soon as he picks it up…hopefully tomorrow. Yay, Daddy Man!!

These tights make me famous at races. People call them my “galaxy pants.”

As soon as we finished the race, the wind picked up. Perfect timing! The rest of the day was spent in our jammies watching Despicable Me 2 on an endless loop. (And Daddy Man nursed an injured foot. A doctor appointment two days later confirmed it’s just a tendon sprain…not a stress fracture. Whew!)