a runner

Earlier this fall a couple of moms in Rachel's class decided to start up a chapter of "Girls on the Run" for the girls in her class.  It's a national organization, but there weren't any groups at Rachel's school.  I really wanted Rachel to try it because 1) I'd heard really good things about the program, 2) I thought it would help her get to know the girls in her class a little better, and 3) she's never been very athletic and I thought running was something simple she might be able to do.  She didn't want to do it, but when she found out almost all of the other girls in her class were doing it, she reluctantly decided to give it a try.

So all fall she's been practicing twice a week after school--they do running practice, but they also do different bonding sorts of activities and learn about things like friendship and standing up for yourself and so forth.   She's really enjoyed it, and glad she tried it, except when it comes to the running.  She's struggled all along, something always seems to hurt, and she can't seem to keep up.  

So yesterday I picked her up from practice and she had spent most of the practice in tears, apparently, because her heel had been hurting the whole time and she could barely walk.  She was upset that she might not be able to run in their big 5K race today.  Her heel has bothered her off and on, and we don't know for sure what it is, but it seems like growing pains, as I've read about it.  

So anyway, we went to bed last night not knowing if she'd be able to run today.  

This morning it still hurt, but after icing it and taking ibuprofen she wanted to try to run.  We got there and found out they wanted some parents to go along and help, so Daddy got to go with her to make sure she made it, since we weren't sure she could.

Rebecca and I walked over to part of the course to get pictures and I got a call when they were getting close so I'd know to look for them.  She was running strong and SO excited.

Rebecca and I then booked it to the finish line, but sadly, not quite fast enough (Rebecca has little legs and we couldn't move as fast!).  So I didn't get a picture of her crossing the finish line, but this is just after she finished.  She was so proud of herself.  And I couldn't have been more proud of her.

Apparently she said halfway through the race, "Dad, when's the next 5K?  Can we sign up for another one?"  

Her heel hurt the whole time, but she kept going--that's a big deal for my child with a low pain tolerance who cries when she brushes her hair with a snarl in it!

This is her team....they all finished.  She was in the first group from her school, and they waited at the finished line and cheered on the rest of her classmates as they finished several minutes later.  

One of the coaches told us the story today about how early on in the practices Rachel was upset about her struggle and said, "I'm not really a runner."  The coach, who was running with her at practice, told her, "Well, you're running now, so that makes you a runner!"  Today she gave Rachel a big hug and said, "See?  I told you you are a runner!"  

So proud of our runner, who pushed through her pain and persevered.  She's so proud of herself and has been wearing her medal all day.  She's told me about five times, "I can't believe I did that!"