More fun than herding cats

Last night was the Jerry Garcia Memorial run/walk. Gazelle boy ran the 4.2 while the boys and I walked the 2.6 mile course.

Keep in mind that between the weather, the fact that I had to walk instead of run because DH had to go to NJ for a business meeting and I had to herd the boys - I was not it a great space for everything. They did their part in assisting the mood by bickering over things that only teen siblings can bicker over. About a half mile into it, the two began to bicker and I did such a mom thing:

me: If I have to listen to this for the next 2 miles, we're turning around right now and going back. I mean it.

About a mile later - when the youngest wanted to "jog along with the runnters until he was tired" (not a good idea on many levels - not the least of which is the reality some of the runners at that point are highly competitive people who take their running intensely seriously):

me: will you please think about the people around you. This is important to them, it's not a game and it's not right for you to screw it up.

youngest: you take all the fun out of everything.

me: that's my job, and I do it well. Now stay out of the runner's way.

At one point Mr. Pi was complaining his back hurt. It's not that I don't take him seriously, but I also know that he can be a whine machine when he wants to be. I ran down a list of ailments (back, ankle, asthma, etc.) to remind him that he should cope with being a little sore because he didn't do the stretches before the work out at camp yesterday. At the end of the race he was not only fine, but he was being all "Oh yeah, I finished..." while doing a little dance.

This morning I looked up the results at Cool Running and realized we moved at a 16:27 pace. Not too shabby. I told Mr. Pi when I woke him up a few minutes ago he just said, "Whoa!"

I have to admit, after looking at the results, I'm a little miffed at one thing. There was a group of walkers that posted a 12 minute pace. We could see them on the path and they weren't walking, they were running as soon as they were just past the initial start on the path. On the one hand, I can appreciate that maybe they were only up for 2 miles, on the other it just didn't seem right either. It's a freaking walk (and yes, I can tell the difference between a "race walk" and a run) but then I guess we live in a world where people are just super competitive and it's another thing to deal with.

After last night I came to a few decisions - first of all I'm not herding cats like that again. If we ever do something like sign up for a walk with DH leading and me running - I would rather sit on the sidelines than lead those two again. Secondly, I'm not entering any of these races again until I can run at (at the very least) a steady 12 minute or less pace.

These are supposed to be "fun" runs - but last night I learned that there are far too many people there that define "fun" as being so intense that it's OK to do things that I would reprimand the kids over (like making fun of "fat-assed, slow runners blocking the bike paths without a clue" and openly mocking some of the folks crossing over the road to the starting line). What a concept - supposedly mature adults acting like adolescents. Maybe that's why they kept scowling at me for keeping the kids in line the way I do. Perhaps if their parents had done that to them they'd be focused beyond the "I'm so freakin' hip, I'm an athlete" thing.

Today is an xt day for me. I don't know if I'll get my laps in before the thunderstorms roll through. This may be another - if all else fails, mall walk night. *bleh*