While I have always enjoyed running Rick has not. He has gone through phases where he will force himself to do it for awhile but he always ends up quitting because he just hasn't enjoyed it up until now. I'd like to think I am rubbing off on him because he now says he is beginning to enjoy running or at least the exhilarating feeling that comes after. He ran the Soda Springs 5k, the Pioneer Day 10k and he just finished the Labor Day 1/2 marathon. He has trained really hard for it. I have been really impressed with his dedication and commitment. He told me his goal was 2 hours 10 minutes.
So I mapped out the course and estimated how long it would take him to get to various points along the way so we could watch him. So I loaded up all the kids, pots and pans and the camera and we set off to see if we could find Rick along the route. We started about mile 3. We had to wait about 5 minutes but we saw him, he looked good, he was running strong. We banged out pots and pans and cheered and cheered. He came over and gave us a high five and kept going with a smile on his face. As I watched the runners I was really quite jealous but I know we have to take turns. Someone has got to stay home and take care of the kids. It actually would have worked out ok for both of us to run since my parents came down for the weekend, but I didn't know they were coming until it was too late to register.
We then hopped back in the car and raced around to our next cheering spot which was about mile 8. We had to really hurry to get there because we had to go way out and around the other side of town in order to avoid the race route. I know lots of people just drove around the runners but due to getting hit myself during a race I opted to stay off the race route. I figure the runners have enough to worry about, traffic shouldn't be another one.
Anyway we got to the next spot I had mapped out and stood watching for him. While we waited we clapped and cheered for all the runners who went by. The kids loved it. The banged their pots and pans and yelled "way to go, keep it up, good job". Then Rick came around the corner, several minutes earlier than I expected him. He was still looking really good. He was running near I woman who caught my eye. I had to do a double take. She only had one leg, yet she was running, and running well. I have seen people like that one TV, but never in real life. I was awed by her determination. It has got to take a lot of guts to do something like that. Well we meet Rick one more time then headed over to the finish. We lined up near the flags and cheered on the races as they were finishing. I watched the clock and figured we would have several more minutes when Rick came into view. His head was high, his chest was out and he was really pumping. He sprinted in with a smile on his face at 2 hours and 1 minute. He absolutely shattered his goal time. I was really really proud of him.
He went to cool off and stretch out while the kids and I started eating the free breakfast they had for the runners and spectators. He handed me his number just in case he got drawn for a prize. I listened but didn't expect to win anything. They gave a way a Tom Tom, then a nice bike, some Anniversary Inn gift certificates and then they called Rick's number. He got some golf balls. I have to admit I was a bit disappointed, I had to remind myself he was lucky to win anything and I shouldn't be greedy.
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