Family 5K Race

We ran our first 5k as a family! We had signed up for two races this year, same ones as last year. Last year we didn’t get to run them. I wasn’t ready postpartum for the first race, and last year the Westmoreland race happened on the first super rainy day of the year. I was bummed last year that I missed both races.

Last month I ran the Laurelhurst 5k solo. Michael was sick so he stayed home with the baby but this weekend we finally got to run a race as a family!

Michael and I were honestly unsure if we’d be able to run this race. Saturday the winds shifted and the smoke from the Gorge Fires was back in Portland and it was AWFUL. So bad I couldn’t be outside and actually felt kind of sick and wheezy in my house. The weather was also predicting rain! So we were basically just waiting to see what it was like Sunday morning. Lucky for us, the winds shifted and the air was clear.

I’ve been running a lot with Logan on my days off. We usually do a 4.15-4.6 mile loop depending on how I’m feeling, so I felt like a 5K wasn’t a big deal. This was a very different kind of terrain though!

The race was two laps around Westmoreland Park. It was on all kinds of terrain. There was bark dust, gravel, pavement, grass, dirt, pathways….you name it, we ran on it!

Logan looks grumpy, but he did great on the race! We started out together as a family. Michael hasn’t been running much this summer–instead he’s been mostly biking.

The start line was on the grass. The people with strollers started towards the back. The beginning of the race was a bit frustrating. It was very congested and slow and I could go faster but ended up getting stuck behind people walking so I could get around them until it opened up a bit. It was harder to maneuver around people with the stroller. But once everyone set their own pace it wasn’t as congested.

I ran with Logan for just under 1 mile and then Michael took over. We ran together for a bit and then Michael passed me. I had planned on taking the stroller back but Michael smoked me and I never really caught back up with them! Bummer. 🙁

I had to run a little slower than normal because the path was so uneven. I was really worried about twisting my ankle or stepping wrong and falling. So I took it easy and just went a little bit slower. The uneven ground and different terrain also made it a harder run for me. I felt my muscles really working a lot harder than normal. What can I say? I am used to city running!!

I took a few short walking breaks (less than 30 seconds each) and my knees felt a little tight and achy but I kept going. When I was starting to feel a bit worn out, the above song came on my playlist and gave me a little boost.

I kept going and was finally about half a mile from the finish. I sped up a little bit to finish strong and saw Michael and Logan at the finish. They came around and then joined me back on the race path so we could cross the finish line together as a family! Yay!! That made me really happy!

Logan and I got some post-run bananas!

We wanted to hang around to wait for the raffle winners but Logan was way past naptime and starting to melt-down so we left. It was a great family event!! I loved that we could all run together!

Final stats:

Michael ran his 5k in about 32 minutes. My time was 37 minutes or so. I’m pretty happy with my time considering the terrain was so hard to run on and I pushed the stroller for part of it. But other than that, great outcome!

Yay for family running!