Racing ups and downs

It was busy week with our first mid-week race and I had a conference to attend on Wednesday with lots of grading for my class. Fortunately, I used my time at the conference to also do my grading. Yes! 

As it goes with every season. there are definitely racing ups and downs. Anna has been in a bit of a funk lately, especially as she's moved to the #2 spot. She really needed to do some mental work this week and I'm proud of the results of her efforts, but whew, it's been a ride getting there. Wednesday was definitely a tougher race, but that was the case for almost every runner. First up, the girls were delayed in getting on the bus due to a fire alarm. Then the bus was late arriving to the school and to top it off, the driver went to the wrong location! So, they were 40 minutes late and we had to get the race director to give us a bit of time to let the girls arrive, use the bathroom and warm up, which they accommodated very kindly.  

The course was a new one for us at a city park which was really nice. But it was not an easy course-half gravel and a two loop portion which was muddy and caused congestion. Anna didn't run great and tightened up due to a mental hurdle. She was peeved coming off the finish line. Paige ran varsity and did not PR so she was mad coming off the finish too. But what she didn't understand was this was a slow course and PR was going to be difficult to come by. She actually finished in front of some varsity girls she had never beat before. So once I explained that she had a good race, she was better. Unfortunately, by the time the race was done, it looked like MASH unit at our tarp. So many girls were injured, to include one who is out for the season and had to go to the ER. It just seemed like after the last three races, our car ride home has been full of sports psychology and drama. 

But after some pep-talking, coaching and even an appointment with the sports psychologist at school, we were primed for a better race today. Even the team got some lessons in attitude which seemed to help. With some beautiful weather this morning, we set out the door to Salda Shoals. Yes, it was early, but only across town and no bus involved. Paige was told she was running legit top 7 varsity and got to don the oversized white jersey. The course was a flat out and back so I really didn't see much of the girls after they started. Soon enough and I mean SOON, the girls came hurdling back toward the finish line. I knew something was up when the top girl finished in 16:30. My first thought....this course is short. 

Soon enough Anna came around the corner and I was thinking she would actually come in sub 19 for the first time. Apparently, she was throwing up in the last 100 meters so she wasn't quite there, but she finished 19:04 and seemed genuinely happy at the end, even having been beat by a teammate. Progress! Paige came in at 22:30, knocking off another 45 seconds from her PR. She is both happy to compete in the faster race and continue to improve. She was a the solid 7th athlete on the team. Interestingly there's a gaggle of girls right after the varsity (including Paige) that is looking really strong. It's so encouraging to see the next group coming up and preparing for their turn in the future. We haven't really had this depth before. 

Those are the racing ups and downs. Even though I'm miffed the course was short (it really isn't that hard to measure out 3.1 miles), it was a good mood booster for the entire team. In fact, Ryder cut off an entire 5 and a half minutes from his PR. We were shocked and overjoyed!! 

I have to brag on my recent purchase. After hauling all of our XC gear every week, I went to Academy Sports and got the XL tailgate foldable wagon. This sucker has a built in cooler and back flap that lays flat so you can put the long tents and chairs on it. After we needed ice on Wednesday, I vowed never again would we be without it. So my built in cooler worked like a charm! Plus, it hauled all the stuff. Even Patrick was pleased with it and I'd call it a sport's mom win!

I'll finish with some pics of these cuties when they were SO little, hanging with Caroline. 

19th and Homecoming

If you want to find us at 8am on a Saturday morning, look no further than a cross country meet. It seems all of our Saturdays start with a wake-up call at 5am-ish. This weekend we were at Crooked Creek for the Lake Murray Invitational. I was pleased that the weather started off cooler, although it certainly warmed up fast. Anna ran in the varsity race and Paige had the choice to but chose the JV race so she could be toward the front of the pack and help her team score points.  

So first up was Anna. She had a good race and looked strong the entire way through. You have to get out fast in this particular race because it's a narrow start and she did. She came into the final stretch ahead of all her teammates, but her bestie, Mal was hot on her train and ended up passing her in the final 1000 meters. Mal has been looking so strong the last couple of weeks and had not been able to run yet due to Covid. It was awesome to see her running this well and he ended up PRing by almost a full minute. Anna came in just 5 seconds behind her with a time of 19:43 and it was her second fastest time yet. So she really had a great race, but was also disappointed in herself that she was not the first runner, as she has always been. Despite this, she was still an amazing and supportive teammate. In fact, the girls ran so well that they were faster than they were at state with 6 runners under 22 minutes. The team finished 5th overall which was really good at this meet. 

Next up was Paige in the girls JV race. She looked really strong and hung with one of the faster girls on the team until she dropped her and surged ahead. I love watching her pick people off in a race. She finished as the top JV runner on the team and PRed with a time of 23:15. She keeps dropping time every time she runs and this was a hilly course so that was great. Here's the kicker, both girls finished 19th in their races!! How wild is that! The only bummer is that varsity received medals if you were in the top 25 and JV only received a medal if you were in the top 15. So Anna added to her hardware and Paige has to wait for yet another race. 

To sum it up, they both did a fantastic job and it was a long, early morning. They were disappointed for different reasons, but we're working on post-race attitudes. Mostly, I'm just going to let Coach Dad work on that because my patience is running thin. Ha!

Saturday evening was homecoming for Anna. She finally nailed down plans with friends and I was trying hard not to be involved in that process. They still have some learning to do on communication to moms and each other, but in the end they had a good time and everything worked out. I made a snack-cutterie board with a friend so they could graze while getting ready. It turned out pretty cute. I was also allowed to come take pictures and managed to snag a spot on the golf course right across the street by texting a neighbor. They all looked lovely and I really liked Anna's dress a lot. It was unique and fun! 

She went off to the dance with her friends and then they returned together to enjoy milkshakes and a movie down the street. Let's just say that was a long day since she didn't get in bed until midnight. But she had a great time and even gladly served in church nursery this morning despite being tired. 

Our final bit of news is that Paige received her part in The Little Mermaid and will be playing Chef Louie (or Louisa now, I guess). Her rendition is hilarious and a little unhinged which I love. She's also thrilled she has a solo and I think this will be a good balance between XC and musical rehearsals. 

And last but not least, I am happy to say our reno project is finally complete! My wallpaper guy came to install the wallpaper in our half bath on Friday and I am in love!! It's gorgeous and really completes the space. I could not be happier with how it turned out. So, if you are counting, it took almost four months. And now we can just enjoy our lovely space.