Wicked Running Club

I have to say it was really cool to run a race with my oldest
daughter Julia.  I have only done a few training runs with Julia and they have
never gone more then 1.5 miles.  Her longest run to date had been approx. 1.7
miles, in Gloucester last Thursday at Stage Fort Park.  Julia has only run these
distances for the past 2 months or so.  Perhaps 2 to 3 days a week.  She had
never run the 5k distance.  Before the run Rich Tomlins advised me that this was
a “Hilly course” and I started to worry just a little bit.  Up to race time
Julia never asked if the course was hilly. Once we reached about 1/4 mile in she
looked up at me and said “Dad, is this a hilly course”?  I looked down at her
and said, “Just keep running.”  The first mile was clocked in at 8:58.  Being a new
runner she still has a lot to learn, especially her breathing.  She was taking
in a lot of air and I kept reminding her that the first mile is usually the
hardest and if she could get her breathing under control, she’d be ok.  Right
after mile one, Tim and Rich came buzzing by offering us encouragement.  We hit the 

only water stop on the course and I figured this would be a good time for a small rest while drinking.  

Down went the water as we passed a small bend in the road and right in front of us was a decent size hill,

especially for an 11 year old. I told her we’d start running at the base of the
hill and go right up at a steady pace.  She looked at me and said, “But my cup,
what do I do with it”?  I told her to just throw it on the ground and someone
would pick it up, she was hesitant to do it it but she did.  We went up the hill
fairly easy and she had a little smile on her face but she mentioned that her
knee was hurting.  I told her we could slow down but we had to keep going.  Once
up the hill there was another right around the corner.  Her pace started to
quicken for some reason, perhaps nervous energy.  Once again I reminded her to
stay steady and take a nice even pace up the hill.  Once over the hill we hit a
nice little down slope and that made her feel better.  At about 12 minutes in she
seemed to be breathing easier and hitting a nice even pace.  We passed another
father and daughter at this turn and exchanged a pleasant hello.  I commented
how nice the weather was and Julia agreed.  Mile 2 was clocked at 18:27. The
thought of another mile was getting the best of her and I reminded her of the
course that we run together, Greenlawn Cemetery in Salem.  It’s exactly 1.1
miles (+188 feet but I have yet to tell her that)  I told her that that’s all
we’d have left to the finish, and no hills to contend with.  About .8 to go and
she started to complain about the knee again so we walked for about 30 seconds.
I remembered hearing on the news last week at how the price of lobster was dirt
cheap….ahhh, some bait for the crustacean lover.  I looked down at her and
said “30 minute or under finish gets you (and me of course) Lobster for dinner.
A small smile crept into her face and the knee pain seemed to go away.  We
continued down the street and there were a few people yelling that the finish
was not far off, I kept reminding her of the time left at our current pace to
finish.  We passed a few more kids who had gone out a little fast and could not
maintain a strong pace, Julia was quick to pick up on that as these kids kept
sprinting past us and walking a few hundred feet later.  Once we reached the
spot where our warm up run before the race took us, she knew the end was near.
We could hear Mom yelling “Go Julia” as we neared the finish line.  We could see
Tim and Rich in their Wicked red shirts as they waited for us to make the
finish.  Julia’s final time was 29.07 and I finished right behind.  I can’t tell
you what a proud moment this was for me. For me to be able to run a race with my
daughter was one of the greatest feelings and something I will remember forever.
I was a little disappointed when I discovered that the Lynn Woods event was on
the same day. I missed running with all my friends and fellow Wicked Runners.
That said, I wouldn’t ever want to miss the chance to run with my children, ever!  I
can only hope that the other 2 will take up running (and that Julia will
continue) so one day we can all run an event together (Ugh! Another Disney
Marathon).  Thanks to the club and people I have met, especially people like the
Touchette’s who run as a united family, I love that about them and I can only
hope for the same in my family.  Also people like Bill Morse and Kevin Curry
from the woods who run with their children. It’s a wonderful thing for sure and
I’m sure they feel the same way that I do.  Julia was a little sore today but
the taste of victory and last night’s lobster seemed to make the pain not so
bad. Congrats to Tim and Rich and Amber who all had great runs as well.