Run or Die... I mean Dye

I kept my post-baby racing goals a little simpler this time around.  Instead of jumping into a half marathon, I signed up for a 5K.  While registering, I noticed kids 7 and under got to run the race for free.  I mentioned this out loud and Scarlet jumped at the idea.  She was definitely in.

We had a long talk about commitment and training and all of the other things that would be involved and she didn't back down once.  And train she did.  She went out on runs alternately with Jon or me.  She even got up extra early in the morning a few times so we could fit our runs in.

And then suddenly it was the first week of December and it was time to Run or Dye.

This is one of the races pattered after the Hindu Festival of Colors and we came ready to get colorful... and then ran back inside to grab our coats.  It was so cold that day!  Our car read 30 degrees on the way over to the race and that was when the sun was out.  

But even with bulky jackets, we were excited.  Scarlet snagged these awesome shades from the race people right before we started to run.

Our friend, Leslee Rosenlof ran with us.  I thought for sure with Scarlet tagging along that we wouldn't be able to keep up with her but Leslee was super patient and the three of ran together the whole race.

It was a fun race format.  You run for awhile and every now and then someone throws colored powder on you.  Its not super fun to try to not breathe for a few seconds when you are already a little winded...

Scarlet ran so strong for the first mile.  About halfway through mile two she felt like she needed to pee.  There wasn't anywhere to stop, and I knew it was probably more of a running thing than an actual bathroom emergency so we encouraged her to keep going.  With the color station distractions, she kept up really well.

Jon spent the whole race in the car with the boys, occasionally getting out to snap a few pictures.  This was in the final stretch.  He told Scarlet that she should try to beat me when she saw the finish line.  Scarlet was just about out of oomph by that point but she found some extra six year old hidden energy.  When she saw that finish line, she sprinted for all it was worth.  I gave her a run for her money but she pulled ahead right at the last few seconds and beat me.

Asher was happy to greet me at the finish line. "You're messy, mom!" he told me, somewhat disgustedly. Somewhere along the way, he never got his coat out of the car.  You can kind of see how cold his little red nose is.  Poor guy.

After the race, Scarlet wiggled herself in front of the crowd, hoping to score some free swag.

They were throwing out colored powder packets and other gear.  Scarlet grabbed a cute race tshirt for her persistence.

Jon kept the baby at safe powder throwing distance as we all got our powder packets ready.

And then the color began.

We stripped kids to their bare minimum clothing requirement and got everyone home and in a bath.  Running with Scarlet was such a fun experience to share together.  I am so proud of how hard she worked and how determined she was to be there.