Mother's Day 4-Miler Recap

This morning's Mother's Day 4-Miler was a bundle of inspirational fun for me. I felt like a runner, I felt like part of the running community, and I was surrounded by inspirational women, many of them moms. Before I get to the recap, I want to give two shout-outs for great accomplishments:

• My mom did her first 5k yesterday! She placed 3rd in her age group and I am very proud of her. Way to go Mom! Happy Mother's Day!

• My friend Jen ran her first 4-miler today! I've been watching Jen make consistent and dedicated progress since we were in Running 101 together last fall. So proud of you Jen!!

I've been looking forward to this race all year. I ran it last year, and it was my first 4-mile race. I can remember being worried that I wouldn't be able to finish four miles last year. I was very nervous. What a difference a year makes; this year I was relaxed about it and enthusiastic to see so many of my friends there. I had two goals for this race:

1. To meet some of the "Moms Run This Town" (MRTT) members that I've gotten to know online but had not yet had the chance to meet in person
2. To run with my Kappa Delta sister Whitney and catch up on each other's lives

I accomplished my goals! I made it to the race early (barely) and got to be in the MRTT pictures for my chapter (Herndon/Reston) and for the multi-chapter. I met so many wonderful moms and hope that I get to run with some of them soon. I truly find it inspirational to know there are so many dedicated mother runners in our community. (and Swapna totally made my day when she recognized me from my blog and said how much she enjoyed the detail in the Nike Women's Half course recap - thank you Swapna!!)

Herndon/Reston MRTT

Multi-chapter MRTT

I also had a great time catching up with Whitney and Christy, my KD sisters. We had all planned to do this race together back in January.

Whitney, me, & Christy before the race
(no, we were not in the 7-8 minute pace group)

Christy ran the 1-mile race with her daughter while Whitney & I ran the 4-miler together. Whitney and I hadn't run together before so it was great to find that we are currently well-matched in pace. The miles flew by quickly as we caught up. We used to see each other pretty regularly before we became moms, and now it is sporadic at best. We had a really fun run!

photo courtesy Potomac River Running

The best surprise came just before mile 2, where Rick and Freddy were cheering for the racers. I had told them they could stay home since I was going to be socializing before and after the race and didn't want them to feel bored. So it was awesome to see them, especially on a part of the course that usually doesn't have any spectators. I high-fived Freddy and heard him wishing everyone a Happy Mother's Day. Nice. And when I got home they had they best homemade Mother's Day cards for me. One of them said "Happy Runners Day Mom!" on the outside, and "We mean, Happy Mothers Day, Runner!" on the inside. Validation that I am a runner from my family. Swoon.

And I got my last bit of runner validation as I walked to my car after the race. As I neared my car, I saw the "13.1" magnet that I got for myself last week. I smiled. Yes, I am a runner. I am.