Race Day: The littlest human on the course

3:47a.m. - Look at the clock and imprint time on brain. Henry is up and has been for a while - ugh.

5:01a.m. - Henry finally goes back to sleep.

7:00a.m. - Alarm goes off.

7:06a.m. - Drag butt out of bed and get ready. Henry is sleeping soundly.

7:23a.m. - Wake up baby and get baby dressed.

7:32a.m. - Place baby in car, stow baby-related accoutrements in the boot, get in the driver's seat, and commence motoring.

7:35a.m. - Stop at Starbucks (ugh.) for an orange juice.

8:06a.m. - Arrive at Champoeg Park.

9:00a.m. - Start race.

11:23a.m. - Finish race.

It was a most excellent morning and a most excellent Hippie Chick race. Today, Henry was a hippie chick and he did splendidly. For starters, I think he may have been the only baby on the course. There was one lady who had her toddler with her for a bit but he was passed off to dad before too long. And I definitely think he was the only male participating in the race. I hope I didn't break any rules by having him there.

Around mile two, Henry became a little fussy so we pulled to the side of the road for some milk. I can't count how many ladies passed us by cheering, one more reason to love living here. The practice of breastfeeding would be infinitely more challenging if you felt the disapproving stares of the general public everywhere you went. Or if folks like Ashcroft were there to drape you with a cloth so as not to see the offensive boob. Luckily I had the foresight, since I wasn't carrying Huck's big old diaper bag with us during the event, to stuff a diaper and essential diaper-changing items in my jacket before the race. We were able to avert catastrophic diaper failure with a preemptive change before getting back to our walk. We were passed by the first half marathon runner right after the mile three sign. Shortly after that we took another break so Huck could have something to eat, and get a little relief from the Baby Björn, which must surely have been scrunching his poor little baby bits, if you know what I mean. Ouch.

By mile four, Henry was definitely ready for the race to be over. He had hit his limit in the sling and was letting me and all of the other race participants in the vicinity know it. Thankfully, Henry is easily distracted. We looked at, and he almost tasted, some leaves from plants bordering the trail, and he chewed on my hair, my fingers, the bills of his hat and my own, and one of the small cups I had taken from a water station along the course. A few tickles were in order by mile five to keep him happy. And then, finally, we were heading down the chute to the finish line. It was awesome. I had expected that it would take us three hours - giving us plenty of time for stops along the way, but we actually completed the race in just under two and a half hours. It's a ridiculously long amount of time for the six plus miles we trekked but I feel rather proud he was able to hang with me for the race in its entirety with relatively few complaints and zero mishaps. Throughout the race we were showered with love from all of the other moms, many of whom told me I should receive "bonus points" for hauling Henry the whole way.

Congrats to all of the hippie chicks who participated in this year's race. Happy Mother's Day, ladies.