Donnie trained for 10 weeks for his first 20K race, the Dam to Dam, in Des Moines. The whole family went downtown to support him and my sister-in-law, Nikki, who also ran for the first time.
We underestimated the crowds (although we knew there were 9,000 runners between the 20K and 5K) and got there just in time to miss him cross this:
He was very happy with his time and looked as though he had just taken a stroll. If only he'd been a little slower, we would have seen him raise him arms as he crossed the finish line!
Before we knew he already crossed, the family was hot and tired, but excited to see both finish. Well, except the kids. They were just hot and tired.
But Kiefer was happy when he got to play with Daddy's medal.
And Reagan helped Daddy celebrate, too.
And then he looked for Aunt Nikki (whom we also missed finish! We are poor spectators!)
And as a special post-race treat? Gatorade and oyster shooters. Mmm. Mmm. Good.
(Seriously, I'm so proud of Donnie. I wasn't sure about only giving himself 10 weeks- from 2 miles to 12+miles. But he did it and did it better than even I thought he would. We decided before that he would train for this one and then I would train for one in the fall, but now he thinks he wants to train for a full marathon in the fall. The endorphins have had to have worn off from Saturday by now, so I think he's serious. Hmmm...)