I've been looking for a chance to ease off the training a little for a few weeks before ramping back up for some races in August. But there just seems to be a race or two nearly every weekend that I find irresistible. That was definitely the case Saturday.
The folks at the Streamwood Park district invited my family to run in the 12th annual Streamwood Stride. Since I grew up in Streamwood, and spent my formative years running through the streets there, I was immediately curious. And when my wife said she would do it and we could bring our daughters for the kid's race while my mother watched them as well, how could I say no?
The race included a one mile run, a 5k, and a 10k as well as kids dashes. The fun part of this for me is that the kids dashes were scheduled after the finish of the 10k, so I was able to watch and cheer myself!
I believe the experience for kids is truly important. During some remarks to the runners after the race, I recalled my own first race as a kid, just down the street from where this one was held. It was a Turkey trot, and I was about 8 years old. I believe I still have the ribbon I got for winning, though the other prize, the turkey I won, lasted only until that Thursday! It was a great confidence and self-esteem booster for me, and probably started my lifelong involvement in running.
I know my oldest daughters were thrilled to show off the ribbons they won after finishing the kid's dash. We didn't get a turkey out of the deal, but there was a Pancake breakfast afterward. And it was pretty good!
This was really a neat small-town race. I don't know how many people were signed up, but it was probably close to a couple hundred. There was plenty of room to move around in the starting line area. The 5 and 10k runners ran together. One loop for the 5k, and a second loop for the 10k. I was running even with the first woman as we neared the finish line, and I encouraged her to pass me since she was finishing the 5k, and I still had 3.1 miles left to go!
10k is a common distance, but for some reason, I haven't run a race of that distance in years. So my expectations were a little off. I recall when we used to run that distance in college, I would finish in the 34 minute range. Coincidently, that was the winning time for the top finisher Saturday. But I ran about ten minutes slower than him. That was enough to win my age group, but it was quite a way off from the sub 40 minute 10k I imagined I was capable of. Getting old is not easy!
It was also a fun day for my wife, and our nanny, Erica, who both won their age groups as well. It was the first time either of them had done that, and it was a really nice surprise for them. The babies my wife and I are holding in the picture are one and two years old and will have to wait a couple more years before they are ready for the kid's dash.
On the way home after the race, we toured Streamwood, passing by my old elementary school, and the house I grew up in. My daughters feigned interest. I hadn't seen the old house in at least 15 years, and it was fun for me at least.
Thanks to the hospitality of everyone in my hometown, I learned you can not only go home again, but you can leave with a bunch of medals!
See you on the roads....
Terrific pictures, John. The girls look like they're having a blast.
Posted by: Judy Moore | June 26, 2010 at 08:04 PM
Judy, Grandma was along to make sure they were having fun while Mom and Dad ran!
Posted by: John | June 28, 2010 at 08:44 PM