Baby’s First 5K

No marathon omniblog this week; I’m tired. As you might guess from the title, the main story of this week is the 5K on Saturday. Let’s catch up on everything else first.

Sunday: 14 miles. Was trying to run 13 and got a little lost. Branch Brook Park was worth it, but I really felt that extra mile after a successfully salvaged workout and a playground double the day before. My right hip hurt in particular; thankfully it was just for the day.

Monday: Off. It’s a down week, after all.

Tuesday: 4, extremely easy. The down week was not working yet!

Wednesday: Off. Unplanned this time. Woke up so exhausted that I called in sick to work. I drove the ten minutes to the office to pick up some papers, just in case I got a second wind, but the second wind never came. Honestly, the first one didn’t show either. I took a nap, which is like a negative run, which for this week was a positive turn.

Thursday: 4, once again extremely easy. The down week was still not working yet! At this point I was starting to worry about the weekend. I threw away my expectations.

Friday: Another 4, a little better. A glimmer of hope.

Saturday: Today was my son’s first time in the jogging stroller, and his first 5K. He was pretty unimpressed during my warmup, which was a good sign. It wasn’t entirely enjoyment, but it certainly wasn’t fear. We cleared our pre-flight check with Mom.

The Historic Allentown 5K is in its sixth edition, and I have won it four times. This is not a brag; I’m at just the right level of 5K ability where I can win a small local race as long as nobody faster shows up, and they often don’t. I knew that I would probably not be able to defend my title with my son in tow, but I was curious. I lined up towards the front and off to the side so we wouldn’t be caught in the panic off the line.

Looking at the photos now, there was definitely some surprise off the line for my son, but thankfully not panic. I didn’t hear a peep, but his face tells me he was not expecting to suddenly be going ten miles an hour.

(I’m not posting the picture because I don’t have my son’s permission for that, but imagine an adorable baby with his eyes just a little wide and make it funny. That’s the picture.)

We settled down after that and hit the first mile in 6:30, which felt smooth and controlled. After that, the course went off-road and we had to slow down for safety.

Even going slower, I was a little worried on the trail. I will likely stick to pavement, and easy pace, for future stroller excursions, for my own sake. My son was perfectly fine. My wife and her family got a huge kick out of watching us. I’m not sure my son had the thrill I had been hoping for, but neutrality is a good place to start. Sharing your interests with your kids is a long, patient game.

This Week: 32 miles. This is deceptive because I ran 14 on Sunday; it was a very light, very depleted week. I hope I’ve done enough to rest before making my next mileage push.

Baby: He finished third! After the race, we took him to Holland Ridge Farms to see the sunflowers with Grandma. It was a nice weekend and he seemed to really enjoy it. He showed my wife’s family his latest trick, which is sitting unassisted. He’s growing up so fast, even when I’m not pushing him.