The weekend before Halloween, Ken, our friend Christine and I dressed up as superheroes to run the 2nd annual Trick or Trot 5k. This race was organized by our friend Matt who is the director of bands at Meridian schools. Proceeds from the race help fundraise band events such as their performance coming up soon at a Detroit Pistons game. We love running and we love running for great causes with great friends even more!
Ken decided that he wanted to dress as Batman for the race and about a week before the run I found a perfect costume for him to wear to the race. It was simple – a shirt with a cape sewn on it that made him look like he had crazy abs and of course the Batman mask! When I bought it, the cashier asked me if my husband was going to dress up as Batdad… we thought it was pretty funny because we both love Batdad! So Ken had the idea that if he was Batman that I should be Catwoman. I looked for a similar amazing costume all over but everything was either outrageously expensive or way too skanky to wear to a race!! We ended up going out the night before the race and found a black mask I could wear and I unearthed the cat ears I wore for Halloween the first year we dated… together they made a somewhat believable Catwoman, and on race day I wore all black to look sort of like the skin tight pleather uniform she wears.
Race day was chilly – I swear here in Michigan we went from summer to winter overnight with just a little glimpse of fall. It was the first cold race of the year, so you never know how you are going to feel. And Ken has never had to run a very cold race yet, so he was really unsure of how to dress! We picked up Christine, who was dressed up as Wonder Woman, and headed out to Meredian! The race course had been altered slightly because of flooding, and we were warned of the fact that not only was it a trail race but we would also spend about 1/4 of a mile feeling like David Hasselhoff running through some sand. We caught up with another running friend of ours before the start – Will – who was dressed as Evel Knievel. We were ready to have a fun race!
We ended up doing run/walk intervals for the race, since my hubby is convinced that he cannot run a 5k without walking. (My friend Christine and I really think he would be able to do it if he tried!!) We did 1 minute runs with 30 minute walks, although a few times we let the walk intervals go by to show Ken he really could run longer than he thinks! ;) It was definitely a tough course, but Ken was able to stick with the intervals. Our first mile was our fastest at a pace of 11:14 per mile, followed by a much slower mile at 12:28. We completed mile 3 at a 11:17 pace and then busted out the last 0.15 at a 9:36 pace! Ken and I grabbed each others hands and finished with arms raised and hands held! It was awesome.
We met up with our friend Matt after we finished and stuck around for the awards ceremony. Our friend Will placed first in his age group and Matt was third. Christine and I were so close to placing in our age group, too – with her finishing 5th and me finishing 6th. 3rd place finished at 36:30.05, 4th at 36:30.54, 5th (Christine) at 36:31.88 and 6th (me) at 36:35.25. Ken finished 5th ini his age group. It was a close race!
After the awards, we went out to breakfast and warmed up with coffee and hot cocoa. Ken and I shared a delicious omelet and we enjoyed each others company while refueling. It was an awesome race with great companionship, and it is one that I definitely look forward to making an October tradition!
RD on the Run 