Canada Day in Canada

Its been a long while since I've been able to spend a Canada Day in Canada (July 1st for those not in the know), so it was pretty special to be there with my little family.We had a pretty great day from start to finish. We spent it on Wolfe Island, where Grandma and Poppa Mike live. The day dawned hot and sunny as do most summer days in Ontario. Usually there is nothing I like more except that we were planning to run the Wolfe Island Classic 5K race which started at the sweltering hour of 9:30 am. Running races are one of the most painful things I voluntarily do with my free time (albeit very occasionally these days), but running them in mid-morning sunny inferno heat takes the pain experience to a whole new level.

But I tried not to think about it as we arrived at about the most pleasant pre-race event that I have experienced in years of racing various sports. Racers were relaxing under shady trees, or munching on bagels from the free breakfast. There were no line ups and no parking issues. Mellow. We pinned on our numbers and tried to stay cool.

Yep, the littles ran too. They were pretty pleased with their race numbers. I had a cute red and white Canada day outfit picked out for Teia but she was making her own choices that morning (why I expected otherwise I have no idea). 

We didn't make them run the full 5K in such heat, of course. They ran the Kiddie Kilometre which was actually 200 m on an out and back course. 

You'll see that our kids weren't the first off the line. In fact, they needed a little prodding from Greg (far right) to get going. But eventually we did get them moving. Kai decided not to show the burst of speed he is very capable of and instead opted for the run/walk option. We're not sure why. Maybe just all the commotion, screaming parents and kids biting the dust, while the fastest and oldest kids were already on their way back, against the main flow of traffic (note to organizers, an out and back course for little kids on loose gravel - maybe not the best idea. Always a good call to keep the little racers moving in the same direction). Maybe next year I should be Kiddie Kilometre Race Director. We were proud of our little finishers who were much more interested in the finish line freezies than in their very nice medals. 

Next up was the big kids race. There were actually two - a 5K and a 10K. To give you a sense of the true mellowness of this event, the race director asked politely for anyone who decided to change races mid-race to make sure and let him know so the results would be accurate. No worries of that happening here. 5K was plenty far enough. I didn't pass out from the heat and I only walked at the water stations (yes, water stations, in a 5K. I would have died without them) so I consider the race a success for me. It was my slowest 5K ever but I managed to stay under 30 minutes. I am thankful for something I learned from sports psychology years ago when I was more serious about my little competitions - always set an objective goal, one you can control. So that morning my goal was to stay positive in the face of all that heat and not listen to the little naysayer in my head who loves to chatter away at me during any difficult physical experience. We all know the one - "why am I doing this? I hate running anyway. I'll feel better if I stop." I must say I did a pretty good job of telling her to STFU and now I look forward to getting somewhat fit again and doing a race in much, much cooler conditions. Maybe even rain. 

Greg, on the other hand, walked away with a medal and gift certificate. Nothing new there. He seems to do that in pretty much any race we show up at, even when he hasn't run in weeks. He beat me by about 10 minutes. A slow time for him but good enough for 2nd place (actually 3rd but the 2nd place finisher was a woman so she wasn't counted against him). He looked pretty fresh as he flew by and high-fived me after the turn around point although he claims that he was hurting. 

Teia was pretty excited to see me after my race and use me as her personal climbing structure. Kids don't care how you place :-) They enjoyed the post-race atmosphere and especially the cookies. I really appreciated the organizers choice of finish line right beside the cool waters of Lake Ontario. Swimming never felt so good!

The coup de gras for the kids' first Canada Day in Canada was of course the fireworks. We had to keep them awake until 10 pm (gasp!) in order to see them b/c it stays light out pretty late up north, eh. A campfire at Grandma's house was the perfect distraction. 

Then we bathed the kiddos and put them in their jammies and headed down to the public boat dock to watch the show. It couldn't have been more perfect. We were close enough to see everything (and hear it too) but not so close that the kids were scared of the noise. I learned that lesson when Kai was 3 and we had front row seats to the 4th of July fireworks in Bedford. Scared Kai to death. Although he has very happy memories of that adventure now and talked all evening long about each of the 3 sets of fireworks he has now seen in his 5 years. These were Teia's first fireworks and she was very impressed. She also liked the sparklers we brought along for the occasion. 

It was a great day and so good to be home. We kept reminding ourselves of how much the kidlets enjoyed the experience and the resulting 11:30 pm bedtimes the next day when we sorely paid for that late night. It was definitely worth it.