My oldest daughter Olivia (10) ran in the local 5k race last weekend – The Yorkville Chili Chase 5k. She did a great job finishing 2nd in her age group with a time of 24 min 34 sec. There's some pictures over there-------------->
The cross country coach at her school handed out entry forms to all of the kids after the season was over, so she ran along with some of her classmates/teammates. When she said that she wanted to run in the race, she also asked if I’d run with her. Of course I would! So we trained a little bit here and there, but not much. Then, with about 2 weeks until race day I looked at the flier and said – Oh man, this is coming up quick, we need to make sure you’re getting some miles in before this race. So I made sure to get her running at least 1-2 miles per day.
She was doing great, and would sometimes run around our block (.6 miles) before I get home from work, or would wait for me to get home from work (I work in Chicago, so I don’t get home until 6:30-7:00 PM). Last week, I got home late and she had waited for me. It was pitch dark and she was ready to run. She was supposed to run 4 miles this day. So we got ready, threw the headlights and reflectors on, and took off at 8:00 PM. It was a cold and windy night. As we took off she asked again – “How far are we going again??” I had decided to take her on my 5 mile loop route and not tell her. I wanted to see how she’d do. But I couldn’t lie to her, so I said 5 miles. She didn’t flinch or say a word. She was ready to run…!
She had been asking me if she could bring her Ipod along. I said no because I wanted her to be able to hear everything, as we’d be running along some busy roads. Well we talked quite a bit and I think it was possibly my favorite run ever to date. Nothing special, just some very quality time in which we were running and engaging in a meaningful conversation. Very fulfilling…..
A few days before the race she had come down with a pretty nasty cold. I was worried that she wouldn’t be able to run. I hoped that she would at least be able to finish, but wanted her to be able to do her best too. I didn’t worry too much about it and just waited to see how things looked on race morning. She was feeling better, but still had the sniffles. So, we broke out the netti pot, cleared her sinuses out, and she was ready to rock….
When we showed up at the start/finish line, we were greeted by many familiar faces. Our neighbors and their kids were all running, my friend Ben Niles and his wife, the ex-Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert and his wife Jeanne (Who I have known my entire life) and Liv’s friends Trevor Wills, Skyler Bollinger and her mom Joanne (Cross Country coach), Theresa Murray, and Jack Plaza.
Liv and I joined the cross country group to get warmed up. It was quite cold (22 degrees) at the start.
Before we knew it we were off and running. We started out with a pretty fast pace. I just tried to keep in front of her enough to keep her going as fast as she could. She practiced her new talent that she learned from me - The Farmer's blow - a few times along the course. Always making sure there was nobody in the line of fire. Very proud of her!! Haha...
As we closed in on mile 2 she started to constantly ask if we were getting close. I kept telling her that we were getting very close, and that if she had anything left in the tank, now was the time to use it. With about 100 yards left she dug deep and sprinted ahead of me to the finish line. We had some family lined up along the finish area, so they were all cheering for her as she hammered into the finish very strong at around 24 minutes (I don't have the exact time), good for 2nd in her age group.
I couldn't have been more proud of her. Her teammates also did well.
