Jingle All The Way

Due to training for the Goofy, I had to temporarily discontinue running with M & M in the mornings. They are anxiously waiting for their turn to loop around the neighborhood once I have recovered from the race. But when I realized we would be around for the second annual YMCA Jingle Bell 5K run, I knew we could not pass this up for Mason. He has been begging to run a 5K, and what better place to race than in your own “backyard”. Scott took Mason out a couple of times for training runs to prep him for the distance. With the Womack boys promptly at the starting line by 6:30 PM, the Womack girls were stationed at mile 2 to be a cheering section… actually more like a baton-twirling section though. Yes, you guessed it – Morgan’s baton team, The Sun Dancers, were called upon to cheer on and twirl for the runners, walkers, bikers, roller bladders and skate boarders (NOT kidding!) as they flew by. Apparently our son is well known at the school because once he rounded the corner, the Sun Dancers went nuts screaming out Mason’s name! And in typical Mason fashion he simply looks over at the lovely ladies, smiles and waves without slowing down one bit. I found out later that Scott wished there was a cheering section the whole time for our boy. Mason LOVES to make a friend wherever he is, including in the middle of running a race. There was a former classmate who was also running, and well, Mason wanted to hang with him. Scott said they could have shaved a good five minutes off the run if they didn’t have to stop every time Mason’s friend needed a break. Thankfully Morgan’s team was finished in time for us to rush over to cheer our Womack boys to the finish line. Overall, it was a good first 5K race for our first born – finishing at 38:45. There was no medal, no t-shirt for the event, but the kids did not care one bit. They were so excited to see Santa at the finish line as well as attend the holiday party afterwards to inhale snow cones and decorate sugar cookies. Oh, but they did get to keep the jingle bells that were attached to their running shoes… how cool is that!