{May Day 5K}

Over the weekend, the kids and I participated in our first official race together. The school held its 4th annual May Day 5K event.



This was my first race since moving to the south. With our hectic schedule and Jason’s deployment, it’s been a little difficult to sign up for races. Needless to say I was a little excited to be able to participate. My first thought: “How fun would it be to run a 5K with Bryanna?”


My sweet little dream was short lived. As a cheerleader, Bryanna was required to participate. As a cheerleader with lots of friends, running with mom was not the first thought on her mind. I was gently let down with the explanation that my daughter wanted to run with her cheer friends. (Sigh...Mom just isn’t that cool anymore)


Saturday morning, we all woke up in good spirits even though it was early and there was no time for Saturday morning cartoons. A power breakfast full of carbs and hydration was a must!! The sky was grey and the clouds were thick but we all got into our May Day shirts, pinned on our numbers, and made our way down to the school. It was drizzly and chilly out but the mood was cheerful.

The Stockwell Cheerleaders kicked off the event by providing a little Stallion Spirit.

Kalyssa and Travin participated in the kid’s fun run around the school while Bryanna stood back handing out medals as the kids made their way across the finish line.

At 8:25 AM we all lined up as official runners to embark on our first 5K journey in Louisiana.

I ran on my own.


Bry ran with her best cheer friend.


Kalyssa and Travin lined up with their best buds and my very good friends The Christopher’s.


Everyone was in place. At 8:30 the horn sounded and we were off for 3.1 miles.


I am learning that something is always bound to happen at every race. For this particular event, my Garmin decide to not work. I am not sure what happened (we are still not on speaking terms). My Garmin is my running partner and I was very lost without it. I didn’t realize how much I rely on my watch until this race. My watch keeps motivated. It tracks my pace which helps me guide myself but more than that, it allows me to see where I am distance wise. I have never run the course that was set up for the 5K so I had no idea where I was, how much I had run, or how much I had left. Add all of that to not knowing what my pace was...I was a very lost girl during this run.


Unfortunately because of this, I will never know my official time. When I crossed the finish line the clock read 25:34.


I grabbed some water, filled out my form, and stretched my muscles a little bit. After I finished my water, I headed back on the course passing fellow runners in search of Bryanna. When I found her, I could see that something was wrong. When she saw me, tears formed in the corner of her eyes. She was having a really hard time breathing. I could hear her wheezing. (Double whammy: allergies and now I’m pretty sure that she has asthma). We walked for a bit. Once I got her calm, I ran back to the finish line to get her some water. She was determined to finish, even if it meant walking the rest of the way. When I got back to her she was a bit better. She drank her water. She looked at me and said “I want to finish. Will you finish with me?” So we ran the rest of the way together. I stayed back right at the finish line so that she could cross it and earn her medal.

I ran around to find her and gave her a huge hug. That was one of those moments that I will ALWAYS treasure!! I made sure that she had what she needed and then made my way back on the course to find my other two favorite kids.


When I reached them, Mr. C had Miss Kalyssa on his shoulders (yeah he’s a big softy for being a big bad Marine). We walked together for a little bit. I told them that they didn’t have far to go. I used markers to help them break up their walk and run pattern. When we got towards the last leg of the race, I asked them if they were ready. They all took off leaving me trailing in their dust. I had to weave my way in and out of others just to catch up =)

Race Results:

Female 9-12

Bryanna
Placed: #9
Time: 41:35
Overall: 134

Female Under 8

Kalyssa
Placed: #18
Time: 56:29
Overall: 223

Male Under 8

Travin
Placed: #25
Time: 56:24
Overall: 222

Female 30-39

Shannon
Placed: #1
Time 25:47
Overall: 33