Are you ready to get Smoked?!

Today is the day that Matthew has looked forward to all week.  The day where HE got to race.  This morning the city of Madison, along with some other local sponsors, hosted an Ironman Fit Kids run.  The run consisted of a 1K course that circled the Capital Building (approximately 3/5 of a mile).   There were raffles, t-shirts, finisher medals, lots and lots of kids and nutritious snacks at the end. 

As we woke in the hotel room, at 5:45am this morning, I recognized the steady sounds of raindrops hitting the window, and the sounds of 2 little guys ready to start their day and get out of the hotel room.  So after we dressed in the warmest clothes we had packed (naturally, we didn't pack NEARLY the clothes we should have for our trip), we headed down to fuel up at the complimentary continental breakfast.   

Luckily by the time we ate, loaded into the car, drove downtown and parked, the rain has mostly stopped.  The weather at this point (7:15am) was simply windy, chilly and "misty"...but at least the rain had slowed down substantially. 

The question of the morning was "Hey Daddy, are you ready to get "smoked"?"  Because as Matthew told him every few minutes.... "I'm gonna "SMOKE" you!".

With most things in our lives now-a-days, it's a philosophy of divide and conquer (the children that is), so since Matthew wanted to "smoke his daddy", I had the privilege of running with the little guy.  Everyone lined up at the starting gate, and the announcer counted down and started the race.  What seemed like a hundred kids and their parents all started their race, in the inside lane around the Capital Building. 

The street was lined with spectators, supporters and local vendors (as there is a local farmer's market in the square on Saturday's).  So with everyone there, we were rallied on by cheers and claps. 

Matthew is happy to say that he ran until "he got a little tired", but then he finished strong, running across the finish line and receiving his finisher's medal.  Michael, on the other hand, started really strong, until he lost site of the local college mascot, Eddie the Eagle.  At which point he decided he'd prefer to be carried the rest of the way.  So, for what I'm guessing was all but 100 ft. of the race, Michael was carried on the hip of his momma, me ;-)

As Michael and I sprinted (OK more like slowly jogged) across the finish line, we were cheered on by Matthew's voice shouting "Suck it up Buttercup!".  And as we made our way back to the games and snacks prepared for the finishers, the boys wore their medals with pride...which made us so happy that they truly enjoyed their first race experience. 

As Matthew retold the story to his grandparents, who were there to cheer us on, he walked with pride and stated...."I smoked daddy!".