Alan Floyd Memorial 5k

Saturday July 14 2012, was the first running of the Alan Floyd 5k.  You can see Alan's story here.  Alan passed away on the 9th after battling cancer for over 18mo.  He was a friend and coworker of Dave's. 

Not being a runner by any stretch of the imagination, I opted to walk the dog, while Dave and the kids ran.  The kids have been wanting to do another 5k since our first, last fall in Winchester KS, (the Nathan O'Neill Memorial 5k Pura Vida Run).  Dave has run off and on, since losing so much weight, so he was doing well.

At the start, I shot a couple pics.  Here's our crew, sans me (taking the pic).

As the run began, Dave led off with the kids in tow.  However within the first 500yds, Monkey3 dropped back to be with Mom and the dog.  Sigh... Then somewhere around the first kilometer, Monkey1, typically my best runner, dropped off to be with Mom and the dog, and Monkey3! 

I looked up to see Dave crossing the end of the dam (we ran around Bachman Park in Dallas), with no Monkey2 in sight.  Eventually I spotted him crossing the dam, about 400yds in front of us girls.  That was the last I saw of Monkey1 !!

Yeah, I couldn't find Monkey2 on the route at all!  So you can imagine the stress levels ratcheting up a bit--imagining Dave coming back to meet us and expecting me to have all 3 kids, and only having 2...  I saw places along the route where he could've gotten misrouted or lost....I imagined all sorts of mishaps, both accidental and involving foul play...

At the last water stop, I asked the volunteers if they had seen a small (9yr old) boy in blue come thru, and they were uncertain.  This did not help my state of mind any.

Perhaps it is the nature of Moms to worry about their children.  Perhaps I worried unnecessarily.  But it was an area we had never been to before, and there was a significant distraction available to Monkey2--Love Field. Yes, he still adores airplanes, and has a fondness for Southwest Airlines, which so happens to fly out of Love Field--right over Bachman Park at about 200' off the deck!  So I worried, right up until I saw Dave come around a corner walking toward us, with Monkey2 on his heels!  YAY!

Seems Monkey2 just ran his own race!  After Dave finished in 29min, and started walking back around toward us, he spotted Monkey2 running on his own around the path.  When they caught up to each other, they continued walking back to us girls and caught up to us just after the last water break.

I finished up in an hour total as best as I can reckon, having forgotten to turn on the phone and Strava.  But that distance and 60min is my typical pace with the dog, so I think I was accurate enough.

I was really proud of Monkey2!  He ran his own race, and stuck with it too!  He didn't quit, and he didn't get lost.  He should do well in the 2012 Pura Vida run I think.

After the run, Dave jokes with some coworkers.

And later that evening, after grilling steaks, a rainstorm blew through, and left us this little bit of glory...

It's faint, but it is a double rainbow.