Heart Run 2009

Payton came home from school quite excited one day with a bright gold "Heart Run" flyer. Huffman Elementary School, apparently, is very competitive about getting the most participants on a team. The school had won the trophy every year..........until last year.........when Bayshore Elementary stole it away. This year the students, Payton among them, were determined to get it back. Naturally the entire family needed to participate and the five of us signed up. Huffman had 450 runners sign up this year.......tomorrow we'll find out if that was enough to win!

Fast forward to this morning when I drug myself out of bed at 7AM to start getting everyone ready for said event. I must say I was enthusiastic filling out the paper work but not so enthusiastic about crawling out of my warm cocoon. Payton was a bundle of energy and couldn't wait to park the car and find the starting line (this is the same kid who usually has to be drug out the door to run). There were thousands of people lining up to start the race, squishing in on every side of us. The twins took it all in without tears, and Payton's class seemed to magnet to BOB. When the gun went off and we all took off I realized that the twins were going to slow me down. With so many people in front of us it was nearly impossible to even jog for the first mile. Payton happily ran ahead with his classmates as I was left behind to weave in and out of the throngs of people blocking the path in front of us. By the end of the first mile I managed to hit my stride and even found a fellow BOB buddy to jog with. Payton was impressive and ran all three miles, he even beat me!!!! I was really proud of the effort and enthusiasm he put into the race. We all had a great time. All three kids left with smiles, new hats, and medals. The Heart Run is definitely something we need to make into a family tradition.

Steve was planning on going with us, but he had a hockey game this morning. I'm sure he'll join the fun next year!!!!