Our journey is no longer ours alone.
Jesse decided he wanted to run, I am guessing, during one of his long bottling days with his brother Chris. I assume this because these are the days when, side by side, the two brothers come up with wild ideas. These are the days I usually refer to Chris as Jess' "other wife". Chris becomes the "other wife" due to the sense of commitment Jess has to the idea they thought up together and there is nothing I can say or do to dissuade him, he has married his idea with his brother. The days where Jess and his "other wife" band together to talk the women in their lives into some hair brained idea come all too often. Running has always seemed a hair brained idea to me and seemed to be the next big adventure these two were ready to take on. Anyway, Jess came to me with the idea of running a marathon and after a couple bottles of wine, I was being talked... no bribed, into running a half marathon. I swore I would NEVER run a full Marathon. Jess took what he could get that day and then slowly wore me down over the years. I ran my first full Marathon in March of this year.
*Tip to those trying to bribe (and things to watch for by those about to be bribed), LOTS of wine and a substantial gift seem to work wonders.
Before I knew it we were off and running, pun intended.
You might be asking, why Jess and his "other wife" didn't just do the running by themselves, why do the ladies need to be involved? I think for Jesse, I was a stepping stone to get to the level he could then join his brother on. I said yes because I wanted the bribe gift...and there was wine involved... lots of wine.
The "other wife" takes my place as the extreme running partner. Chris has always had a natural gift for running, an ability to randomly select a day to run 10 miles and do it at a pace I will probably never be able to train for ...and he'll do it hung over. Absolutely unfair.
Jess ran with me until he was able to build up enough speed to run with Chris. They have managed to race Marathon after Marathon, encouraging each other to add another race to the calendar. The races get faster for Chris and Jess, having found that endurance is his gift, get longer! Chris hopes to shave enough speed off his Marathon time to qualify for Boston, Jess is training for a 50 miler.
Needless to say, it is hard to not feel the stirring in your gut to get involved, usually for me that is because I ate greasy food the night before...but that is a different blog all together. Seeing people push themselves, commit to a goal, follow through and finally cross the finish line at a race is beyond moving. I have cried at all of Jesse and Chris' races.
Chris' wife (his actual wife, not his "other wife" Jesse) Liliana, has been working out at home while raising her 2 kids, perhaps secretly planing to step in and race one of these days. I have no doubt she could kick some butt and do it without sweating. I seriously don't think she sweats! Due to a second pregnancy, Liliana has not yet taken up running. Lucky girl.
Now, Jess' son Denim (about to be 6 this summer) and Chris' son Maddox (turning 5 this week) have taken to running. Yes I know all children run, but they want to race!
Enter race opportunity #1:"Run for the Zoo". This is a race held in Albuquerque offering a 1/2 marathon, 10K, 5K and 1 mile fun run. The kids signed up for the 1 mile. Maddox unfortunately came down with a cold and could not participate. Denim, along with Dixon Elementary (the 3rd most entries of all Northern NM schools) joined the thousands to run Sunday morning.
A few days prior to the race, the elementary kids got their race packets. Denim excitedly asked to put on his new zoo shirt and have me pin his bib on just as he had seen Jess and myself do for our races. He proudly posed for photos and packed his "gear" for the race. Each day he thought about what foods to eat that would make him run better. He talked about being a little nervous and he tried to get more sleep. The dedication of this 5 year old to a race was more than adorable, it was touching. We felt a sense of pride watching him ready himself for his first race. In a time where kids watch more TV than play, it is exciting to see kids participate in sports. Especially when it is
your child. Especially when your child would rather read college text books on dinosaurs than go outside.
The day of the race, nerves were on edge, the pressure and crowds were setting Denim off. We found a group from the school and huddled together, moving with the sea of people through the start gates and down the race course. The mass moved us blocks down the road...and past the turn off for the 1 mile loop. Yes, we were now moving with the last of the 5K group NOT the kids 1 mile "fun run".
How did this happen you ask? Well, we would like to know as well. It seemed odd that the race had started early, but then again, when you have thousands of people crammed into an area, confusion seems to be the norm. Disoriented, we started with the mob we were in.
Denim ran the 1st mile well, at a quick clip even. Then as he began to tire, he walked. The path ahead seemed never ending. Like a mirage, we thought each bend in the road up ahead was the finish line. We encouraged him to press on, take breaks when he needed and run 'his race'. Jess and I looked at each other nervously as we continued with the crowd far past what should have been the 1 mile stopping point. As we wound our way into neighborhoods we knew, this was a 5K. Denim managed to run 2.1 miles. A true Marathon for a 5 year old. He had stayed in excellent spirits and even literally stopped to smell the roses. However, shortly after the 2 mile point, he was unable to continue. I picked him up and carried him in my arms. My very tired this-is-too-far-to-carry-50lbs arms. So much for the "fun run".
Denim wasn't the only one ill prepared for a 5K! I was wearing a skirt and converse, not the attire that would support 3.1 miles. We neared the end and Denim had a resurgence of energy, running across the finish line with pride. I was more like a drowned rat. My skirt was dirty from his shoes rubbing on it and it was twisted off to the side. My shirt was soaked with sweat and I had blisters on my toes. Lovely.
After a bag of cotton candy and a tour of the zoo, we walked a mile back to the car. The poor kid did about 4 miles of walking that day. On the drive home Denim reminisced about the fine points of the race concluding "If I can do 2 miles at age 5, I think I will run a half marathon at 14 years old and a full Marathon by the time I am 20 years old." I am relieved that this experience didn't deter him, but inspired him to continue. I have to say if I thought I was heading out for a half marathon and found I was on a full Marathon course, I would not be such a good sport. The cotton candy at the end of that race would have to be made out of Oxycontin with a side of wine.
And so, with one race down, and a future of races in front of him, we see that this journey of running is not just ours, but inspiring future generations. Maybe Denim and Maddox will inspire their kids to be runners too. If only talking them into taking over the winery were as easy.
-Cheers from the Vivác Winery Family!
www.VivacWinery.com
