Things Missing This Year
Running with the kids - my favorite part of the race last year was coming around a corner and seeing Brax and McKell and then running with them for about a block, it gave me a second wind to tackle the remaining half of the race. This year McKell was at dance and Braxton was several minutes ahead of me most of the race.
The cold - the weather on Saturday was great running weather. Last year it was 30 F the morning of the race, this year the temperature was about 45 F with no wind and overcast. I was warm (but not too warm) through the whole race - I was just right.
Jitters - I don't know if I have just been too busy or better prepared but I was not that nervous for the race. I was excited - especially the morning of the race - but I wasn't nervous. I think I was just so happy to be there with my family I didn't think about whether to be nervous or not.
Knee brace - last year when I ran and for most of this year I have worn a knee brace on my right knee. If I didn't my knee would throb for a while after I ran. I stopped wearing it about a month ago when I ran. Thankfully I didn't have any pain in my knee after the race.
Things Present This Year
Family - this year there were 10 of us from our family who ran. Dad, Mom, two brothers, two sister-in-laws, two nephews, Brax, and myself all ran. It was fun to watch and then cheer for each person as they approached then crossed the finish line. I only wish I could have been there to watch Braxton (22 min) and Glade (29 min) finish. I was so proud of each person who ran the race. Hopefully we will have even more family in the race next year.
Destry - last year Destry (below in green) ran with me for the first mile to where the 5k route turns and the 10k route goes straight (Destry ran the 10k last year). This year Destry ran with me the whole race. I wanted to run with Brax, Glade, and Destry for at least the first mile but Braxton was way ahead of me after a few seconds, Glade just got further and further away from me during entire race, but Destry stayed with me the whole race. I felt bad for Destry and kept thinking that he should ditch me and run his own race but I was so glad that he stayed. He set a great pace for me and encouraged me to keep going when I was tired. We finished in 30 minutes, two minutes faster than last year. A big thanks to Destry.
Glade - as I mentioned above, I had hoped to run with Glade (pictured below right) for the first mile but I wasn't able to. Even though I wasn't able to run with Glade I could easily spot his bald head bobbing above the crowd. This made me laugh for a minute until I realized that I look the same way from behind as Glade. He did great and I am so proud of him.
Ribbons - we were very surprised when they started to read those who placed in each of the categories - Tate, Connor, Brax, and Dad all won a ribbon for their category. It was great.
It was a great day. I can't wait until next year. I think that plan is to try to run a race in SE Idaho next spring and then tackle First Dam Run next year.
Then we had a pizza that looked like a pumpkin. 
Finally, went swimming with Connor, Tate, Attley and Mckinley.