Turkey Trot #4

Despite it being 45 degrees and a little rain, Collin and I got up this morning and did the neighborhood Turkey Trot.  This was our 4th time to do it and a Holmes tradition. The last year was Collin's first year to run the 1K so I was looking forward to see how fast he would be this year.

All week, he asked when it was the day to race.  This morning, he was not interested in getting up though.  Probably because he stayed up late watching movies.  I did eventually get him moving and dressed in really warm clothes.  I explained that it was cold and probably would rain on us during the race.  He said that he wanted to race anyway.  "Your hair will not get messed up if it gets wet".  Well, he does have a point there. 

I let him pick breakfast so we went to get bagels.  He also picked out a chocolate chip coffee cake which is what Daddy usually gets.  I knew he would not eat both but bought it anyway since he was hungry last night (he at a sandwich and a half which is a lot for him especially at night). He ate fairly quickly.  While there, it started to rain.  He still did not change his mind so we headed to where the Turkey Trot was going to be.

On the way there, we talked about who would be there.  I said that Ethan would and Collin asked how old he was.  I explained that he was 5 years old but would be 6 next month for his birthday.  I then asked who else would have a birthday while raising my hand as high as I could in the car.  He said, "You Mommy".  I then asked a question that I did not know would lead to a huge laugh at the end.

Mommy:  "How old will Mommy be?"

Collin: "24"

Mommy:  "Well, thank you, Collin, but I am older than that.  Guess higher."

Collin:  "27"  (good thing we had 10 more minutes until we were at the race)

Mommy:  "No, I am much older than that"

Collin: "35...that's old!"

Mommy:  "No, I will be 44"  At this point, I heard the loudest laugh from the back seat. 

Collin:  "That is SOOO old Mommy that you are almost dead"  What?!?!?!  My child even thinks I am old.  He is still laughing, by the way.

I quickly change the subject and let him know that we are almost there.  "Will people be watching me at the race?"  He really does not like it when people watch him.  We learned that while he played football.  He is great at catching and running with the ball during practice.  However, he does not want to do this during a game because people will be watching.  He does not want them to laugh if he drops it.  I let him know that some people will be watching but probably not a lot because it's really cold out.  He liked that answer.

We arrived and he saw some friends so he was happy. Then it was time to warm up as a group.  He did great with the jumping jacks, lunges and other warm up exercises.  Next, the 5K started and he waiting patiently as long as he could until it was time for us to line up.  Here he is dancing to the music.....until he noticed that people were watching:

Then, it was finally time for us to line up for the race.  While waiting, he found friends Maddy and Ethan so he waited for them to line up so he could race with them.  When it was time to go, he took off!!!!  At least this year, I was ready for him.  I think he was at a 6:30 min/mi pace when he started.  He did stop after 3 minutes or so to let his friends catch up....and this is how the rest of the race went.  It reminded me of a rubber band.  Fortunately, I am quick on my toes and could stop abruptly when he did without crashing into him.

After the race was over, he asked if we could do that again.  I asked if he had fun and he said he did, especially when the people were cheering for him at the end. Well, make up your mind kid.  Do you want people watching or not?