Andy and I ran a race together a few weekends ago, and I thought I would share a bit about the race and how proud we are of him! The race is the Coaldale Fun Run 5km, and I signed us up to do this race together. While Andy has done 5km races before with us, most recently on New Years Eve while wearing a winter jacket and all the gear, he hasn’t really tried ‘racing’ one. I will definitely say that this was his first real test as a RACE!
Coaldale is about a 20 minute drive from our house. Realistically, we probably could have just done packet pickup the morning of, but I didn’t want us to be rushing or worry if we were late. Andy was also very excited to see his race number the night before. We talked the night before about how this would have a whole lot more people than at the previous week’s Park Run (free 5km held every week worldwide; ours is held at Henderson Lake) and that there would be a lot more kids at this run. This has grown to quite the large-scale local event for Coaldale, which is great they have it.
At home before the race!
I appreciated that it was a 10 am start, as we didn’t need any early alarms for Saturday morning. We got out to Coaldale, parked, and had a short walk to the school where the race was being held. As we waited to get started, I told Andy he didn’t have to hold my hand the whole way but that he would want to at the start when it was very crowded. Starting promptly at 10 am, we were off!
Start line smiles!
The race starts and finishes at Coaldale Christian School. It is mainly ran on the rural roads on the outskirts of town, so there is a lot of gravel and rocks. Andy held my hand for at least the first half a mile and it was at that point that I figured he could just run next to me without getting trampled over. He is still learning how to be aware of those around him (and doesn’t always look behind himself when he moves over) but he did pretty well this whole race. His first mile was quick at 10:26; this was a bit faster than his first mile at Park Run the prior week. Unlike at Park Run, he kept pace in mile 2 and 3! When we got to the halfway point there was a water station but he didn’t want to stop since “I got a cramp at Moonlight Run when I had water!” So we kept going. Mile 2 was 11:13; slower, but still going strong. Amazingly, this little dude had more stamina in him because for the final mile he actually sped back up and got to passing some people. He finished mile 3 in 10:36, and he crossed the finish line at 33:27!
Finisher!
Gold medal for Andy!
We had to wait a little bit for the live results to load, but were excited to confirm that Andy placed first in the 6 and under boys! This race is unique as they have smaller age groups, so he was able to be with kindergarten aged kids and younger. We unfortunately couldn’t stick around for the official award ceremony (due to having swim lessons back in town at 11:30) but we received Andy’s gold medal later the next week.
Gold for our boy!
We have no clue if Andy is going to always love running, but for now he really enjoys running 5km races with us….he’s been brought up coming to mostly my events, and now he gets to have his own race numbers and earn medals in the process. We are so proud of our little man and can’t wait to see how his races go in the future!
I can’t promise I will start regularly posting, but I know I am good for at least one yearly post. So here it is. In reverse order.
Disney
Well, of course Disney is still a huge part in my day to day life. Yes—day to day. I feel like I am always thinking or daydreaming about it. It really is my ‘happy place.’ Last August, Andy and I went on a mommy & son trip to Disney with my dear friend Maureen and her son. It was such a great trip and we made so many memories. The memory I want to forget is catching COVID for the first time while there and us having to truck through the trip with that going on. WOW-that took a lot out on my body. Andy had one night where he broke his fever and was a bit of a mess, but he trucked on. My positive test when we came back confirmed how shitty I felt, and it honestly threw off my running for about a month then. At least I didn’t have any big events planned!
Disney 100!Cheese & Castles Grandpa Andy’s favorite character
We are doing another mommy & son trip to Disney this August, with hopefully no COVID, and with Grandma. I am really excited to see what rides Andy is most interested in doing and all the memories we can make. Dan and I have been working with Andy a lot lately preparing him for swimming pools, because he is not keen on his swim lessons. We have him in private swim lessons starting a few weeks from now, so hopefully that helps. I made a fake ‘threat’ that Grandma wouldn’t book us at the nice hotel anymore if he didn’t start to want to learn to swim….hopefully that’s lit a fire!
Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party…in hot August
Dad
This month marks the 20th anniversary of when my dad passed away. I turn 40 this year. That’s a lot to take in. I have worked really hard in the recent years to deal with the grief that still was lingering and I feel like I am in a pretty good place. There hasn’t been anything new with the family history/DNA/ancestry area. My one close contact hasn’t talked to me in about two years, and it was sort of left that there may be some family resentment/conflict due to the potential unknowns/family skeletons. I decided to send one more message earlier this week to just touch base and say hi…you never know what things could have changed?
There is also a date I am awaiting, and that is June 8th. This day is the day after what would have been my dad’s 72nd birthday, but it is also a day that Quebec puts forth Bill 2 into action. I will put a snippet below from the Province of Quebec website regarding what Bill 2 entails:
This act amends the Civil Code in respect of filiation, the law of persons and civil status. In particular, it amends the rules concerning the knowledge of one’s origins in relation to adoption so as to broaden their scope. Thus, this act allows the adoptee greater access to information about the identity of the parent of origin by eliminating almost all possibilities that a refusal to disclose would hinder it. It also gives the adoptee the right to obtain, under certain conditions, a copy of their original birth certificate and the judgments relating to their adoption, as well as the names of their grandparents and brothers and sisters of origin, and, if they consent to it, the information allowing them to contact them.
It extends services to new categories of applicants, such as the original grandparents of an adopted person and the first-degree descendants of a deceased adopted person. The latter will be able to obtain the same information and documents as the adopted person.
Lastly, it enshrines a person’s right to know their origins in the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms. These measures will come into force on June 8, 2024. Until then, the current provisions on knowledge of one’s origins continue to apply.
Honestly. That statement in bold…that is me. And this gives me so much hope. I read this outloud to Dan just now as I typed it and he paused….and said “I am cautiously optimistic for you!” Hopefully, 2024 can be the year we find the real answers.
Running
This is a year, other than the pandemic, that I have no real big races planned. And I can say that I am at a place in my life that I am ok with that! I started the year off with a quick trip to Los Angeles where I was able to take part in the Disneyland Half Marathon weekend with my bff. It had been since 2017 that Disneyland had races (due to conflicts with the city of Anaheim and then the pandemic, etc) so it was great to be back there in that atmosphere!
Cheese & Castles (mom’s turn)
A few weeks ago, we did the Moonlight Run 6km as a family-this was Andy’s first 6km distance. Even in the late-winter snow, he did fantastic. We finished just under one hour, and that was even with him in snow boots. My race focus this year should have been more explicitly stated-it is to run 5km races with Andy! Up next….Coaldale Family Fun Run. He’ll also have the Red Deer Kids race during marathon weekend, Little Souls, and I also plan to get him signed up for a kid’s race in Wisconsin.
Moonlight Run
Andy and I head to Wisconsin in July, and I will be doing the Dances with Dirt Half Marathon Trail Race in Devils Lake. I am looking forward to my first trail race outside of Western Canada! I am not looking forward to the humidity! I will also sign up for one of the local beer garden 5km events that coincidentally have a kids event too.
Dan and I are signed up for the return of Lone Wolf in September, and Coulee Cactus Crawl in Lethbridge will be our warmup trail race together. Still trying to think of a good team name, otherwise our Lone Wolf original of “Lammers & the Dilf” will still hold on.
One big thing to mention that ties directly in with where I am at with my running is to talk about where I am with my health. Without going into too much, I will say that I am in a much better place than I was one year ago. I have lost close to 20 pounds. My body is not hurting. With the guidance of a doctor, I weaned off my antidepressants that I had been on for close to 12 years (but I think were doing more harm than good the last while). I have now been off them for 7 months. I took time off alcohol. Between the being off the antidepressant and pausing on boozing, I weaned off my blood pressure medication. I tracked my blood pressure off the pills for about 2 months in November and December (some time while drinking, some while not) and it has now been stable since January. And I am not on that pill either. I am actually now on no prescription medication—just a daily multivitamin and collagen because I’m old hahaha. And, I had my yearly echo and my heart function has improved since the last one. And super minor, but I am not consuming even CLOSE to the amount of caffeine as I was previously….living on the half caf/decaf life. The meaningful changes I started making a year ago really have made a difference-the tests don’t lie. I am not going back to where I was before.
Took this photo a few days ago. Now it’s pounding snow.
A week ago, this blog entered my mind during a workout. And I reflected on how great I felt when I was actively posting about my running and training. It was therapeutic. I know it will take some extra effort to make posting happen, but with the upcoming Disney, Dad and Running events on the horizon, sharing the good news could do some good. They will be shorter than this, more often than not, and not very well proof-read. But I know this helps.
Je Me Souviens-To Infinity & Beyond! 