The Zyriek Zoo: Harding 5k

We all signed up to participate in the Harding 5k this year....Caroline was part of the 5L (5 laps for Little Lions). Anna really wanted to run but as the day approached was hesitant about how much she could run vs. walk. Last year I ran with Anna and Gary stayed behind at the finish line with Caroline. We had a time of 43 minutes. I even came in third in my age category (must have been a lot of slow moms running with their kids!!). I told Anna that we should just work to improve our time but have fun as well. She ended up shaving 6 minutes off her time and coming in closely behind her buddy Kennedy who took a 3rd place medal in the under 9 category. Of course the winner in my age group, a friend from my fantasty football league, had a sub 30 minute time and was so embarrassed to claim her medal. A lot more serious moms this year!! It was our first really chilly morning of the year and when we arrived on campus it was near freezing!! Caroline was our little burrito all bundled up in the jog stroller. Gary was brave to try the run. He is working toward a half iron man in April and is having some adjustments to his knees to be able to run. We were thrilled with our finish and that we improved so much. Caroline was on the hunt for prowler, the school mascot, and was excited to have a picture with him afterwards. The race starter was Joe Birch, local tv anchorman, who is an avid runner. He participated in the race and cheered those on who finished after him (which was just about everyone!!). Caroline's "race" was fun as the kids had 5 laps of different themes including run backwards, run through the bubbles and run with mom or dad. Caroline was worried beforehand that she was not going to win but afterwards forgot all about that and enjoyed the moment!!

After the 5k was Anna's last soccer game of the year. In a way it is sad but it will be nice to reclaim our Saturday mornings!! Gary has worked hard with the team this year and saw definited improvement in the kids over the course of the season. Anna made an awesome goal and was thrilled. For a while it was the go-ahead winning goal of the game but we were excited to have another goal tacked on for good measure by a teammate. Great season....thinking about spring soccer now!!!