Brookgreen Gardens 5K/1 Mile Race

I love Brookgreen Gardens. It's a beautiful place. My favorite area is Oak Alee and the flower gardens. So when I heard they were hosting a 5k race here, I was all in. Of course, this photo was taken a couple of years ago during the spring, when the azaleas were in full bloom. The yellow one in the background is called 'Admiral Semmes', I believe. Is it not gorgeous?

Not only was there a 5k at Brookgreen last Sunday but, a one-mile fun run, too. Perfect opportunity to get Lidia and Sawyer into running. So, Cliff signed them up and I went shopping for some grandbaby running shoes. 

Sunday afternoon, we arrived to Brookgreen and checked in. I was running the 5k and Cliff was going to run the one-mile with the kids. The weather couldn't have been much better......low humidity and upper 70's with a slight breeze blowing. Near perfect.

We pinned Lidia and Sawyer's race number on their shirts and they were starting to look like pros. No biggy, no nerves....just ready to run. I gave them each a GU Chomps chew for energy.

Turns out they didn't need it; kids have plenty. I, however, ate 4 or 5 or maybe it was 6.  Probably should have eaten the whole pack. Ha! Oh wait, I didn't tell you the best part. The nerves never showed up! Hallelujah, it's a breakthrough. Or not, depending on how you look at it.

Time for the 5k'ers to line up. We had lots of friends running today and as we gathered together, discussed pace. My goal was a 12 min. mile. And as it turns out the majority of our friends were planning to run about the same pace. Meloney's daughter, Sarah Ruth, was running so Meloney and Kelly was pacing her. Cammie is so sweet.....she hung back with us just to have some girlfriend time I'm sure, because this chick can RUN. And then, we were off. As adrenaline would have it, I went out too fast. At one point, I was running an 11:14 and 10:17 mile. But exhaustion and sore thigh muscles started setting in. (Remember, I've been riding my bike lately. Cycling works my thigh muscles like nobody's business.) I took a couple 15-20 second walk breaks and began to slow down. I hate when that happens. I'll be glad when the day comes that I can finish the race as strong as I start. Finally, I crossed the finish line with some high fives from friends.

I immediately headed over to Cliff and the grandkids to see how their race went.
 

Cliff said, "I've got a funny story for you"! He was running along with Lidia....(Sawyer left them sitting still. Ha!) Anyway, Lidia told Cliff she had to go to the bathroom. Both Lidia and Sawyer had drank a lot of water prior to the race. So, Cliff told her that they were almost to the finish line and asked if she thought she could make it. Lidia said, "Yes, but first I have to go to the bathroom".

Ha! It just doesn't matter if you're almost to the finish line, when a girl has to go, she has to go.  

Lidia, headed to the finish line with Papi (Cliff) in tow.

Lidia crossing the finish line.

Sawyer....perfect form for a speed demon.

And, Sawyer crossing the finish line.

Sawyer, on the other hand, was a speed demon. His first ever race and he took off acting like he knew where to go and what to do. The child never looked back!  He was 5th to cross the finish line. 6 years old and his first race......I think he has a career ahead of him.

End of the race, hot and sweaty and a little tired, we did all the post race things you do. Re-hydrated, snacked, talked smack about our race with friends and stuck around for the awards. There were no awards for us, but the way my heart sang and the way the pride rose up in this LaLa was good enough for me. We were all so proud of our little munchkins. And I can't wait to do it again.

Race Results:

My 5K finish time: 38:13 (yuck, dang it)
Pace: 12:20
Sawyer's 1-mile finish time: 16:20 (awesome)
Lidia's 1-mile finish time: Undetermined (potty break slowed her down)

Bless it, we thought it was a cute little story, but it embarrassed her. So,  don't say anything.......ok. ;)

Thank you for stopping by.

Come back soon,

Laurie