Zach is a running fool these days. He runs a lot. And he is forever looking at shoes and runner's world and talking with other running fools about running. It's officially an obsession. But he's getting into really great shape, so I'm not complaining. Too much.
He's working up to a marathon slowly and is probably going to do one later this year. Last Saturday he ran his first Pikermi, so he is officially half way there. He was pretty nervous that morning, kinda jittery like, even though, I think, he's already run this distance before. But, then again, this was up in the mountains in rainy, muddy conditions. But I've heard that "pre-race jitters" are pretty common.
Zach, running in a field to get warmed up before the race
(I would be sitting down, to avoid running as much as possible before the race)
We were hoping and planning on having a little BBQ and hiking some of the trails they have up there, but the weather wasn't great for it. It had rained all night and then cleared up for long enough that the boys and I to eat donuts and find the playground in a mere drizzle.
Sam and Ben in the rain
Ben in the Rain
(That's his dog Chocolate, who doesn't like to get wet)
As we were playing on the playground in the light drizzle, and I was under and umbrella attempting to read a book, the real rain started up. Of course, it only lasted long enough for us to get uncomfortably moist and into the car and then it stopped. Ah. So we just went back to the race finish and stood in the rain and waited for Zach to finish.
Awful picture of Zach finishing
He reached his goal of 8 minute miles and had a finishing time of 1:45:07. Which I think is pretty darn awesome. He was, of course, completely soaked and the backs of his legs were covered in mud. Sam said he didn't know it was him when he saw him. And then we went home and had the BBQ in our backyard, so it was a pretty splendid day overall, I'd say.
