Once we had our stickers and ribbons on, I got excited at the prospect of finally doing the course in its entirety, in the correct order of kilometer markers. We took Shark Boy along on his bike and headed North. The North end turnaround is about 2km from the start, but you see a 9km marker on the way, which we would face later. I tracked our run with Endomondo, and when my wife heard the app announcing our pace at every kilometer, she’d cringe at how we’ve slowed down over the past 10 years or so. I figure you’ve got to be happy to be still moving and getting out there. We took water at the North end, and turned back toward the start. From there, you head to the South End turn-around which occurs around 6km. Shortly before then, we ran into the Lightning Kid and his grandparents, and Shark Boy let us know he was done for the day – he probably got around 7km or riding done.
My wife and I carried on to the Southern end, took some water, then back to the start and past it for another 1km to the 9km mark, then the final stretch. I got her to space the walking breaks up a little to more regulated intervals instead of just willy-nilly.
I don’t know whether to be proud or ashamed of how I egged my wife on for the rest of the trail, but I’m proud of her for getting out of her comfort zone a little by pushing pace and distance, and hopefully it made her a stronger for the next run she does.
Once the run was finished, we had hot dogs and hamburgers with a little extra playground time. We didn’t quite make it to the bouncy castle or hot air balloon before they were shutting down, but we still had a nice day out and raised $175.00 (thanks to our generous donors).
You seriously have the cutest family EVER!