Halloween 5k

Saturday we ran the Halloween 5k that I ran last year. During the awards ceremony they gave a bag of Halloween candy to the kids who ran the race and LMS decided then and there that she had to run the race so she could get a bag of candy (yes, we know one of her motivators).

About a month ago I signed us both up and then tried to think of costumes to wear. I couldn't think of anything particular, so we just went the mini-me route and tried to find matching outfits, which isn't as easy as it sounds. I eventually found very similar tech shirts at Target and matching tutu-floofy skirts in the costume aisle at Walmart.

You can't see LMS's skirt in the pic above, but you can see it below. She's covering her face because she didn't want me to take a picture of her smiling.

Last year it was very cold and rained the whole race. This year the weather was perfect: a slight chill, but still warm enough to wear short sleeves, and no wind or rain to contend with.

We started training for the race this summer, but getting sick derailed our training program and we never quite got back on track. So I wasn't expecting LMS to run the whole 3.1 miles, and she didn't. I had to coax her along after the first mile, but we were able to finish in 46:33 (my slowest 5k ever, but it wasn't about me, it was about LMS).  I think that's a great time for our 6 year old's first 5k. I think I was 13 or 14 the first time I ran a 5k, so I'm super excited that she's starting so young.

During the awards ceremony after the race, kids 8 and under who finished the race were invited to come get a bag of treats. LMS was way more excited than this photo suggests. And it instantly erased the memory of all the complaints she'd had during the race. On the way home, I asked her if she wanted to do the race again next year, and she immediately replied "Sure!" in an excited voice.

crappy indoor photo

LMS's next race will be a lot shorter: the 1/2 mile Turkey Trot fun run on Thanksgiving day. 

And yes, we will be doing some training before then.

How old were you when you ran your first 5k?