So I will be going on a bit of a writing hiatus while I wait for the Spring season to start up. I might return to writing on my personal blog about my training experiences since I am taking up some new projects next year. I can hear a few of my friends exasperated sighs as they keep telling me to cut back on my activities...I JUST CANT! Its not in my nature.
So I should start this blog from Friday night.
My 6 year old daughter decided she wanted to run the 5k with my team on December 3rd. I was needless to say, Thrilled! So Friday night I followed my own advice that I gave to parents. I started our own traditions for running together. We went out and had dinner-pasta and pizza to give us energy. Then we went and saw a movie together just the two of us and ate a little candy. I know, I am a bad mom/coach giving a kid candy but it was a movie and she never eats candy.
When we got home I showed her how we have to get all our stuff ready for the next day. She said she was really tired so we got her clothes set out and she crawled under my big huge comforter and promptly passed out. I was a bit jealous of her slumber as I stayed up for the next two hours getting packages together, signs, my own clothes, hair supplies, breakfast snacks and drinks, and anything else that I could think of that I would need including...my tutu.
I promised my girls that if everyone showed up to the race I would run in a big huge tutu. So Saturday morning with the brisk cool air of the upper 30's we gathered our things and got into the car. My daughter is not a big breakfast kid so a granola bar and some juice go a long way for her. We head to the race and already I am getting phone calls from parents and coaches. We arrive and find out that we were about the last people from our team to arrive!
And madness ensues. Handing out race numbers to kids and adults, running around trying to gather them with their buddy runners, trying to find friends that came out to help either run or volunteer on the course. It was a mad house. And all I kept hearing was little girls asking-"Where's the tutu coach Jillianne?".
Those kids are hilarious if not smart at remembering details. So I get my back pack and pull out my balled up tutu. I never heard so many gasps at once. My daughter was giggling the whole time because, well, I am a silly mom and I have worn this out in public with her on many occasions.
I gear up, tutu on, mismatch knee high socks (check), sparkles and pigtails (check), unicorn mascot (check), and hand held speakers hooked up to my custom created playlist (check).
I scoop up my daughter and guide any last minute runners onto the starting line. We take a few pictures and then, We're off!
I can't tell you how amazing it is seeing your own daughter and her friend run with you in such an amazing event. Watching ten weeks of work with these kids right before your eyes. I loved seeing all the parents, teachers, families, and friends running with these kids. They were all dressed up, cheering the girls on and all in all having a good time. And I loved having my music with me for the kids.
You know what made me really happy while running was seeing friends of mine that came out to volunteer on the course and run with the girls. So I want to give a mini shout out to my friends from the US Navy-Nia , to Elevi-Phil, PJ and associates, and to my two friends who I know came out to run with the girls-Reci and Whitney and everyone that you guys brought along with you. Your support is what helps keep me motivated to coach.
So I wont lie, I wont say I had doubts so much as I was worried about one of my runners finishing. It was a really big deal that all my runners finished the entire 5k. I knew each of them was completely capable of doing this but I worried because as hard as I tried, I can't ease all self doubt a girl might have about herself. To me it was most important that the girls that had doubt understood that if they could run a 5k against all odds, that they could do anything in the world that they could dream. So when I came across the finish line with my daughter and my other mini running partner, I dropped them off with the correct people and turned around and went back onto the course to find my last runner and make sure she came across.
And wouldn't you know to my surprise as I only got about 30 feet from the finish line and she was right there pushing on through! And for as proud of my daughter as I am for finishing a 5k and honoring me by running her first ever 5k with me as I did with my father, I can't tell anyone how amazing it felt as a coach to watch and realize that every single one of my girls had completed the event successfully. I truly can't explain how overjoyed I felt.
So you want to know what I gained from that experience? That these kids will never cease to amaze me! And walking through the crowd afterwards and my girls tackling me with hugs and smiles as we took photos, talked about their run and how well they did, and they just gushed about how much fun they had and couldn't wait to do it again.
So when I am sitting there half way through the season next spring and I am stressed and trying to manage my time, I will look at the pictures from that day and know that at the end of ten weeks I have those smiles to look forward too again.
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