It was Alicia's turn for some one-on-one time with Daddy. We chose a race that we had to travel to (that's part of the fun.) We found a 5k that supports a good cause in Morganton, North Carolina.
We had to stay in a hotel with an indoor pool.
A large part of the appeal of the trip for Alicia was staying in a hotel with an indoor pool. The water was ice cold, but we swam in it and had a good time.
Dinner at Geppeto's Pizza in Morganton
We had a pizza buffet dinner at a nice pizza place called Geppeto's. After dinner we stopped for some ice cream and called it a night.
Saturday morning we woke up and made our way to the race which was a couple of miles from our hotel room.
Alicia at the start line.
Alicia took this picture of me.
The race started and Alicia almost instantly cramped up. I told her it was OK and that we needed to walk it off and that she'd catch up after it was gone. We were in dead last place, but eventually the cramp went away and Alicia was determined to pass her competition. She had seen the medals before the race and was determined to win one.
She ran the rest of the race at a really good pace. It was an out and back course, so once we started seeing runners running back towards the finish, we counted how many little girls there were. When we got to the turn-around point we had counted three girls. So Alicia knew she was in fourth place. Alicia was cruising at this point.
We passed two of the girls (one of which ended up being too young so she wasn't in Alicia's division anyway), so Alicia took 2nd place in her division.
With about a half-mile to go, I could tell it was going to be close to 30 minutes, which is a big goal. It sounds so much better to say your time was 29 something. I told Alicia if she hurried she might beat 30 minutes. I honestly didn't think she could do it, but I wanted to push her. She was up to the challenge and crossed the line at 29:56 (based on my watch, which would be chip time if they used chips). They didn't use chips and the clock showed 29:59 when she crossed. Her official gun time was 30:00.6 but I always go by chip time, so I told her I'd count it as 29:56. That was a big deal for her.
Alicia met Alison, who was one of the girls she passed, but ended up being in the younger division.
Alison told Alicia about the face painting.
Alicia with her silver medal.
After the race we stopped at a gas station for some treats, and headed home. Here is a video of her accepting her award:
