And the medal goes to…

He did it! My amazing husband, the best father in the world, the man who at one point couldn’t run a mile let alone nine of them, did what some would say was the impossible! He finished the Hot Chocolate 15k in record time!! And although we took this opportunity to really do something for Dad, make a weekend out of his accomplishment and focus on him, it somehow comes back to me, who in many ways was the one to conquer the weekend…or not as the case may be.

Let’s start at the very beginning. In order to run in this race, each runner needed to pick up their packet Friday or Saturday. So Saturday we set out for a fun day in the city and planned to eventually pick up this packet. Rumor had it that wait times were crazy on Friday and we were hopeful that come Saturday night (the last moment to pick up) things would simmer down. And I suppose two hours is considered simmered down in some worlds but not in the world where you have to entertain a 4 and 2 year old for all that time!

I brought my A game – snacks galore for our time in the car “patiently” waiting for Dad. We had run them ragged before hand so I was secretly hoping at least one of them would end up crashing but crashing is a loose term. No one slept but some might say they sufficiently crashed. We ultimately took a fun little trip to Target where we walked up and down every aisle to bide time.

At dinner, Adam and I worked very hard to swallow our food before chewing in order to make the dinner as painless as possible. There was a couple whose kids were in college that came up to us telling us that they had enjoyed watching our kids. I offered them up to this lovely couple who realized that their love for our children was only from afar. And so goes the night in the hotel…

“Sleeping” in a hotel room with my two children is unlikely. Mostly because it’s hard to sleep when you are 31 weeks preggers, also because we had to get up bright and early and experience a time change, and mostly due to the foot in my back (Drew decided to sleep the opposite direction of the people he was sleeping with).

Bright and early we set out for the race to watch first hand as Adam’s hard work and determination paid off. Miles of walking, maneuvering a double stroller off road/in road and everything in between, close to an hour of standing and trying to keep rowdy kids in check, all to receive the phone call…WHERE ARE YOU? Adam had managed to run the entire race and we missed it!!!!

We finally met up with him (after some more of that off roading/in roading, etc etc), and I was in tears. I physically felt like I had run the 15k, I juggled the kids for so long that I had nothing left, and all I wanted was the opportunity to see Adam in all his glory. I wanted the kids to bear witness to someone setting a goal, working hard towards that goal, and accomplishing that goal. And instead we saw him the same way we could have seen him if he drove home to us after completion.

I couldn’t be more proud of Adam for doing everything he did. I couldn’t be any happier that my children have him as an example of hard work and determination. I will, however, stay home if he decides to do something like this again.