Mia's First 10K

Mia ran her first 10k!!!!!!!

This year has been the year where I focused less on my running and more on encouraging and supporting my kids through races.  Mia did her first 5k in June, and two 5ks followed shortly after.  Surf City 10 is a 10 mile, 10k, or 5k race along Pacific Coast Highway in Huntington Beach.  The medal is an incredible silver surfboard, and I wanted it for Mia.  However, the medal does not say anything about a 5k on it...it just says 10 mile/10k race so in order for Mia to earn that medal, she had to do the 10k race (my opinion).

Mia's average on the previous 5ks were about 45 minutes so my hope would be that she could finish anywhere from 1:30 to 1:40.  Her performance surprised me, and she crossed the finish line in an awesome time of 1:24.  Not bad for a 7-year old, huh? In fact, I'm pretty certain she is the youngest person to do run the 10k race.  I saw other kids, but they were noticeably older than Mia.  The Surf City 10 is a costume race, but most people disappointingly didn't wear costumes.  Mia and I began the race as cheerleaders, but shortly before mile 1, Mia complained about her costume so we veered off to the side of the road, and she removed it, and mommy had to carry it.  I was smart to have her wear dri-fit clothing underneath.  She did complain during the race and before hitting mile 3, I wasn't too confident that she could finish the race.  However, Mia is a natural athlete, and she pushed herself. She also received so much attention from other runners who complimented and encouraged her, which I think gave her that extra boost of confidence and energy. 

on the beach before the race

in our corral dressed as cheerleaders

half of the cheerleading outfit is off

three lanes: One for the 5k, one for the 10k, and one for the 10 mile

a costume we saw with a padded butt

For our group, this was a race to encourage a new generation of runners.  All of my friends either had their sons, daughters, nephews, and nieces run.  Most ran the 5k.  We did our usual dinner the eve before the race and had a great Mexican breakfast following the race.  The kids enjoyed the social interaction with each other. All the kids and us are registered to do a Santa Clause 5k race in early December. 

Dinner at Istanbul Grill to mentor and encourage a new generation of runners. 

a group shot of us wearing some really cool race shirts

Why didn't Dylan and Brandon race? Frankly, running is expensive (my financial resources are trying to fund a trip to India) and Brandon is way to feeble looking for me to allow him to run that distance.  Brandon and Dylan were at their dad's house so it was a great bonding time for me and my little girl.

I was very upset because the day before the race, I lost my $600 phone at the swap meet.  I had no way to take photos/video of my baby girl's first 10k race.  I then remembered we had one of those small digital cameras, and so I used it, and quite honestly, it was easy and convenient. 

I'm proud of you, Mia. I'm proud to be your mommy.  You are accomplishing so much more than I ever did at your age.  I love watching you, and I will always be your biggest fan!  You ROCK!!

Close up of the surfboard medal. 

All 11 of us..