Running for FUN

Never in my past 29 years have I ever enjoyed running. Not until this spring when I set a goal of running 500 miles this year did I start to enjoy it. That might seem a little crazy to you, but this has given me a chance to spend some more time with the kids. That's right I have done most of the miles this summer with both kids in the double stroller. They have enjoyed riding in the stroller and going to the park, library, to see the horses and any other thing we can get into during the day. We have also participated in a few 5K races, too. Another goal that I have made for myself this year was to run a 5K race with both the children in under 30 minutes. This was a big goal for myself because I have never before even run a 5K by myself in under 30 minutes. This post is going to be about the 5K races that I have done so far this year.

The first 5K this year I actually ran with my father. This was a first for us both, so we were pretty excited to participate in the Color Me Rad 5K. I didn't want to run with the kids because I was unsure if it was child friendly with all the colored powder that would be thrown during the race. We created our own team and we called ourselves Team Michael because all of us men in the family share the name Michael.

The three of us pre race.

The race begins!

I finished.

I finished the race with a time of 28 minutes 58 seconds. This was great because I had never before run 3 miles straight in my training and I had also never had a time under 30 minutes. I was very happy with this time, but at the same time I was a little upset. This was because my goal for the year was to run a 5K with both kids under 30 minutes, not just one by myself. This gave me a lot of confidence though that I could accomplish this goal with just a little more time and effort. I went back to find dad and I met up with him and finished out the race with him.

Dad and I finished out the race together.

Dad actually finished with a personal best time of 51 minutes. He had been walking at home to try and build up his endurance to 3 miles and he actually finished with a time that was 7 minutes faster that he had ever done at home.

We let Landon participate in the festivities by getting some color onto his shirt.

Team Michael - Michael Lynn, Jordan Michael, and Landon Michael

The Color me Rad was a great experience and a really fun atmosphere. They really try to make the event fun for all the participants and it raised money for a great cause - The Ronald McDonald House Charity. This is a very important charity because it lets families stay in a house like setting while their children are in the hospital. They have food for them and all the amenities of their own home and they basically get it all for free while their child is sick in the hospital. I am glad that my dad and I could experience our first 5K together.

Then a few months later some people that I work with asked if I wanted to run a race that raises money for kids with congenital heart defects. This is again a very important charity to me because when I first started working in pediatrics I was working in the University of Kentucky Children's Hospital PICU and I took care of a lot of children with congenital heart defects. They are such amazing kids and have to start fighting for their lives the minute that they are born. They are little superheros! Fittingly that was the theme of the race - superheros. I thought hard on what to dress up as and I had difficulty deciding on anything for me and the kids. I ultimately waited too long and we ended up just finding some Superman shirts at Target that we all could wear for the race.

Landon and I dressed at Clark Kent with our Superman shirts underneath the dress clothes.

My little superheros were ready for the race.

Ready for our run! Both kids had their snacks and drinks for the race.

The race was a 1.5 mile loop that you ran twice. The hill at the beginning of the loop was pretty brutal to push the stroller up.

The worst part about the race was that on my second lap around I was having to dodge in and out of all the walkers. It could have been a lot worse, but I was having to use more energy than I wanted to try and maneuver the stroller around the other participants.

Crossing the finish line! My official time was 27 minutes 49 seconds which was well below my goal of 30 minutes!

What made things even sweeter was that I actually came in 3rd place in my age group of 21-29 year old males. Who would have ever thought that I could get an award for running. I actually came in 34th place overall. Not bad for pushing the stroller with both kids in it!

The only other 5K that I have done this year was actually a virtual one that raised money for a child that I had taken care of with cancer. This was a race that you completed on your own time and then posted the results to the web page. I talked Jennifer into competing in this race too. We actually ran our race the day after the Superhero race. We just ran in our neighborhood, but I thought a lot about the patient that I was running for during the race. Every time I felt tired I thought about him and remember that when things got tough for him he didn't quit! He pushed through all the pain and tears to beat cancer, so the least that I could do was run as hard as I could for him. I actually finished with my fastest 5K time ever, but I was a little slow hitting the stop button. I really finished in 27 minutes 37 seconds.

I have really enjoyed running with the kids. It allows me to get my exercise in for the day and it gets Brinley and Landon outside to see nature. Brinley loves to point out all the dogs and birds that we see on our runs. We also make a lot of trips to the park that is close to our house as well as the miniature horses that are at the end of our subdivision. These usually serve as a good halfway point in our runs that the kids can get out and run around some before finishing up our run.

I found this a few months ago and it has served as a huge motivational tool for me. Sometimes when I am feeling down on myself during a run and I want to quit I start to think about all the people out there that would do almost anything to be able to be out running. This has also translated to many other things in my life. I have tried to enjoy more of the small things and to try and live everyday to the fullest. I hope that you can get out and do something that you love! You never know, maybe you will start to love running too! Thanks for reading and God Bless!