Tuesday, March 16, 2010

-70 yard hero

before i start, let me just say that i hope to raise hardworking and goal achieving men.

ok.
saturday was brooks's first race.
a WHOPPIN' 3K.
i woke him up early, fed him a hearty breakfast and gave him a pep talk during the car ride over that included words like pace, strive, push hard and finish strong.
i was so excited when the starting gun blasted and we were off for our mile-ish run.
"come on bud! you're doing great!!"
his dinosaur vans were slapping the pavement like a thoroughbred and i felt uteran pride.

and then he quit.

there is no tapering in effort when it comes to a 3 year old.
within 50 yards of the starting line brooks decided that this whole race bit was bullcrap and he wanted to be back in the bouncy castle inducing whiplash to some overplayed "boom boom pow".

"lewis boys aren't quitters. come on b!"

NOTHING could restart this nugget.
so i did what every competitive mom with shwagg bags and no hair tie would do.
i picked him up and ran the freaking thing to show him that quitting was not an option.
with the finish line within 20 yards, i plopped him down and told him to go for it.
he ran like the wind.
a blond, floppy haired, hydrated and well rested wind.
totally worth the shaking biceps and 15 swallowed curse words i endured.
i love my brooks.

he totally earned his turn for some sweet photo opp's.
yooooou're welcome.

5 comments:

Sara said...

That mess is funny.

This sounds like something I would've done when I was little.

I take that back. My mom and I signed up to walk for breast cancer, but on the drive there we got hungry and decided to eat breakfast instead.

I'm not a good role model for races, but I'm a great one for waffles!

Stephanie said...

Hahahahaha I love this! :D

I definitely would have been the one veering toward the bouncy house. Even at my age. :)

Laurel @ Ducks in a Row said...

Yeah Brooks -
last year, we ran the last mile of the Denver marathon together, but we had to run the first 25 miles on our own. Training consisted of me pushing Mia in the stroller, holding Grady's hand, and Izzy would hold onto the stroller's leash as I dragged her along!

Carl said...

This reminds me of my first 5K I ever did with the Hendricksons when I was like 12. I had no idea what a 5K was or how long that was. We all lined up and when the gun went off I am happy to say that I beat everyone out of the parking lot. Suck on that. From there on out I was walking and complaining and trying to figure out why anyone in their right mind would do something like this. It got really bad when a group of Grandmas ran past me and tried to encourage me to run. I haven't competed in a 5K since.

Don't worry Brooks, I know how you feel.

A and C said...

Last year Alex and i ran a 3 mile race. It was unusually hot, he wore black and was hot and tired. I kept encouraging him and we would go for a bit then walk for a bit. He probably ran about 2.5 miles total but for the last .5 mile stretch we ran down main street. There were crowds lined up in preparation for a parade. His friends saw him. They yelled out his name in encouragement and I couldn't keep up with him. For Alex I guess that is all it takes--the fans cheering you on! Way to go Brooks!