A great race day

Bec ran the 5k that is part of National Capital Race weekend. She established a new personal best time and felt strong doing it, including still feeling strong at the end. Apparently training with Quinn in the chariot means doing the run without the chariot felt like a breeze. And her time could have been even better if she had had to spend less time dodging other runners - I heard one estimate that there were 13000 runners, but I also heard another that said 8000. Either way, it took her 8 minutes just to cross the *start* line (not included in her time - a chip on her shoe is sensed electronically as she crosses both the start and finish lines).

I had Quinn for the duration of the race. I was worried that the crowd and the noise would be too much for him, but he loved it. We hung out 300m before the finish line to look for Rebecca. He was fascinated by all the goings-on - all the runners, the cheering spectators, the announcers, the music. He even added some cheers of his own as he has taken to extensive chattiness these days.

After a while of standing at the 4.7k mark I determined that Bec must have gone by without us seeing her, so we tried to make our way back to meet her. With somewhere around 10000 5k runners and somewhere around the same number of 10k runners minutes from starting, the place was a little crowded to say the least. I made it through the throng which thickened considerably as I got near the finish area. I got to a bottlenecking gate through which thousands of people were trying to squeeze by in both directions, and came to a standstill.

It was shoulder-to-shoulder by this point and I was a little concerned for Quinn's safety, and also concerned he was going to melt down. Sure enough he started to fuss a little and I thought uh-oh here we go. There wasn't much sanctuary nearby but I managed to extricate myself to a place by the fence that was less than nine people per square yard. He settled but I was still worried that he was going to get hungry or scared and there wouldn't be anything I could do about it. I was afraid Bec was going to be worried and/or leave to either look for us or go home. We were only probably 50 yards from the fountain where we'd previously agreed to meet but it was looking impassable. The 10k was minutes from starting. If I was going to retrace my steps it had to be soon or I'd have to wait for 10000 runners to go by.

I decided to abandon the gate and take the long way around. It was going to take awhile but it looked like it was going to take longer to cover the direct route. I got back across the road and went through city hall. As I was inside I decided to take Quinn's hat off and see how he was doing with all the stress of the situation, fully expecting him to be Very Displeased.

He looked up at me (facing inward on my chest in a baby-carrier) and gave me the biggest, happiest, most glowing smile. He radiated happiness and glowed with affection. My tension level plummeted. In that moment my 4-month old son taught me that togetherness trumps circumstances. I stopped in a safe spot and we just grinned at one another for a few seconds. Then I carried on and eventually found Bec waiting patiently for us at the fountain.

Sometimes he really surprises me with his adaptability and resilience. Bec's daily adventures with him are a big part of that I'm sure. This was the first big adventure he and I had together by ourselves though, and that smiling gaze of his while walking through city hall is something I'll never forget.