dragitoff
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 31, 2007
- Messages
- 1,356
I posted this in my journal over on the W.I.S.H. journal page, but I thought it was worthy of posting here as well.
My DD11 started running middle school track this year. Outside being forced to run a 5k with DW and DD8 last summer, she has never shown any interest in running. DW and I both run so this excited us when she said she was signing up for it. We know how hard it is to stay dedicated to running and how much of a problem she has with commitment, we told her if she signed up for the track team, she was not quitting no matter what. She agreed.
The past few weeks of practice have been tough on her. In her mind, she was lightning fast, but the first practice brought her crashing back to reality. She would daily come home down in the dumps saying she finished dead last in their team runs (1/4 mile to 1/2 mile runs that every runner is required to run).
I kept encouraging her saying if she sticks with it she would get better. Running has to be personal. You focus on yourself and competing with yourself only. This was her first year and even her coaches told every 6th grader this year was just practice and experience. Nothing more. Nothing less.
Yesterday she had her first meet. She was slotted to run the 1 mile. She had never completed a 1 mile run without walking. Before heading down to the track I told her to only promise me 2 things. No matter how slow you have to go, don't walk and no matter how tired you get, don't quit. She agreed.
It was evident from the starter's pistol her only shot at finishing better than last would be someone quitting, but she kept chugging along, no walking at all. She still had almost 200m to go when the next to last runner crossed the finish line. At that point, about 8 of her teammates ran across the track infield to run alongside her as she finished her mile. When she hit the corner heading to the final 100m straight away, her team was seated in the bleachers next to the track there and they all stood and cheered her on as if she was the leader.
It brought a tear to my eye as well as DW's to see how they encouraged her despite her poor finish. They never showed any disappointment in her performance or how it affected their standings in the meet. They rallied around her and encouraged her through it all.
That's the reason I run. Sure, I love the health benefits I get from it and the weight I've lost from it. I love pushing myself to go further and faster, but it's the community. The people. The friends I've made and people I've encountered. It's the encouragement we give each other. Sure, there are your elitist jerks in our sport, but for the most part, it's hard to tell who is the sub 3 hour marathoner and who is the stay at home mom that is just getting back into running after having her 3rd child. We don't pass judgement because someone run/walks or is slower paced that us. We are simply runners and I'm proud to be one.
My DD11 started running middle school track this year. Outside being forced to run a 5k with DW and DD8 last summer, she has never shown any interest in running. DW and I both run so this excited us when she said she was signing up for it. We know how hard it is to stay dedicated to running and how much of a problem she has with commitment, we told her if she signed up for the track team, she was not quitting no matter what. She agreed.
The past few weeks of practice have been tough on her. In her mind, she was lightning fast, but the first practice brought her crashing back to reality. She would daily come home down in the dumps saying she finished dead last in their team runs (1/4 mile to 1/2 mile runs that every runner is required to run).
I kept encouraging her saying if she sticks with it she would get better. Running has to be personal. You focus on yourself and competing with yourself only. This was her first year and even her coaches told every 6th grader this year was just practice and experience. Nothing more. Nothing less.
Yesterday she had her first meet. She was slotted to run the 1 mile. She had never completed a 1 mile run without walking. Before heading down to the track I told her to only promise me 2 things. No matter how slow you have to go, don't walk and no matter how tired you get, don't quit. She agreed.
It was evident from the starter's pistol her only shot at finishing better than last would be someone quitting, but she kept chugging along, no walking at all. She still had almost 200m to go when the next to last runner crossed the finish line. At that point, about 8 of her teammates ran across the track infield to run alongside her as she finished her mile. When she hit the corner heading to the final 100m straight away, her team was seated in the bleachers next to the track there and they all stood and cheered her on as if she was the leader.
It brought a tear to my eye as well as DW's to see how they encouraged her despite her poor finish. They never showed any disappointment in her performance or how it affected their standings in the meet. They rallied around her and encouraged her through it all.
That's the reason I run. Sure, I love the health benefits I get from it and the weight I've lost from it. I love pushing myself to go further and faster, but it's the community. The people. The friends I've made and people I've encountered. It's the encouragement we give each other. Sure, there are your elitist jerks in our sport, but for the most part, it's hard to tell who is the sub 3 hour marathoner and who is the stay at home mom that is just getting back into running after having her 3rd child. We don't pass judgement because someone run/walks or is slower paced that us. We are simply runners and I'm proud to be one.
