Race Weekend

This weekend we participated in two of the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon events.  On Saturday, Zander took part in the Toddler Trot - a 50 yard run on the grass at the State Capitol building in St. Paul.  It was a riot!  Here is Zander at the start line (being held by Daddy, underneath the red-orange tree):

At the start line, Daddy joked with Zander, "This is what all our training has been for..." - some parents took Daddy literally and were taken aback by his apparent competitiveness - we laughed.  After the starting horn sounded, it took Zander a few minutes to get going - too many distractions:

Then he started to pick up the pace:

Yippee, he made it!  Zander was delighted to receive a big medal for his efforts:

We then had a delightful lunch at Mirror of Korea restaurant - delicious.  We had the pleasure of meeting (and being treated by!) a wonderful family who is planning their travel to Korea next month to pick up their son.  It was so fun for us to share our experience and advice with them... and reflect on the fact that we were in their same shoes just four short months ago!  How quickly life can change.  We wish them the best as they embark on their adventure.

On Sunday, Mommy ran the TC 10 Mile race - it was a very brisk but beautiful morning.  Daddy and Zander came out to cheer Mommy on - they were both even able to give her mid-race smooches near mile six, - what a boost!!

It has certainly been difficult to fit race training into our busy routine over the last couple of months - fortunately Daddy has been a real trouper and helped out with Zander on one of the weekend days so that Mommy could fit in a long run.  Mommy finished with a net time of 1:35 - not too bad for such minimal training, but 20 seconds/mile off her pace from last year.  Here she is with Zander after the race (already changed out of her Medtronic gear!) in front of the State Capitol:

We celebrated with a delicious brunch at Cooper - Nice work Team Wilson!!