Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Way to go, Daddy!

Jon has recently decided to take up the running mantle again. He was inspired by his friend, Brad, who biked a portion of the Tour de France this past July. (Talk about inspiring!) So now that Jon's running regularly again, we got to celebrate this milestone by cheering him on in his first race. It was a 10k that was held last Sunday in Leesburg. The weather was perfect, the sun was shining, the humidity was low, the baby was well-behaved...what more could one ask for? Above is Jon heading toward the starting line. He did a fantastic job! Kate and I had fun sitting with other moms and babies waiting for the runners to appear. And no, I didn't feel at all ashamed that I was sitting on the sidelines, cheering, instead of running myself. After all, someone had to stay with Kate! So I proudly held that position.

Here's the crowd just after the start:

We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, Jon included, and he was particularly happy about his time. He shaved almost four minutes off his practice run time! Now I know he's wishing he'd signed up for the Chicago Marathon with Dad Minnery and Beth.... Maybe next year! It was a great morning, time well spent, and we all headed home for a well deserved nap.

Here's the big finish. Jon is on the far right, in the blue shirt, in front of the couple in blue and pink shirts.

P.S. I had to take a few pictures of all the runners waiting for the bathrooms...well, actually, they were port-o-potties. I found it rather striking.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the welcome home from Ethiopia! It was perfect to spend time with you three! Kate looks so cute in that hat. We loved seeing the pics of the race. Way to go, Jon! Reminded us of KoleKole Pass! Love to all...Pops and Gram

Anonymous said...

Jen, our men couldn't practice their athletic pursuits without us, so I'm with you on being a proud supporter on the sidelines!

Congrats on your race Jon!

--Silas' mom

Blythe Owen Hunt said...

Congratulations, Jon!! Way to go!! And awesome job shaving off 4 minutes--wow!!!

Jen--I HAVE to comment on the port-o-potties. When I had my first race, Erin told me that almost everyone uses them beforehand because of nerves, and a lot of people REALLY have to use them...I thought I'd be different--after all, I h-a-t-e them, so I didn't think i'd be tempted at all! but every single race I've run I've stood in that ridiculous line and didn't care a bit about any of it! the adrenaline was pumping so fast!! hey, we should do a race together someday--I'll chase you to ensure you run. ;)

Anonymous said...

crazy line for the bathrooms.

Anonymous said...

crazy lines for the bathroom! Riley and Nana

Anonymous said...

crazy lines for the bathroom! Riley and Nana