Out With A Bang!

Yesterday morning, Chris, Abby, and I drove 3 1/2 hours to middle Tennessee to watch Brittany compete in the outdoor track conference championships.  Good thing we all wore jeans and had jackets with us because the temperature barely got up above 50 degrees and it was windy and drizzled rain all day long.  Not exactly perfect running conditions.  Since she wasn't due to run until 6:15 PM, we met Brittany at the hotel where they were staying and we all went to lunch at Olive Garden.  It felt so good to hug her and be able to visit face-to-face.  Of course, we always end up giggling like a couple of 1st graders and yesterday was no exception.

After we ate, we went to the local mall and walked around for awhile.  Brittany convinced Abby and me to go in Forever 21 so that she could pick out some clothes.  Chris sat on a some chair outside the store and took a little catnap.  We had to have Brittany at the track at 3 PM so she'd have ample time to warm up and stretch out.  We attempted to sit for awhile on the bleachers, but time was dragging by and we were FREEZING! So, we left and got back in the car and turned the heat on for awhile...it felt so GOOD!  We sat there and talked and listened to the radio. 

After Brittany warmed up and did her stretches, we went back to the bleachers.  Thankfully, we only had a few races to watch before Brittany competed.  She ran in the 1500m and finished with a time of 5:04, which was just short of a new PR for her.  Here's a few pictures I took of her running...that's her in the blue and red uniform. 

  
Bless her heart, after she did her cool down, she came over to where we were standing.  I knew from the look on her face that something wasn't "right".  She said that as soon as she finished her race, her coach walked over to her and asked if she'd gotten her 5,000m number yet.  She said that she hadn't because she wasn't running the 5,000m race.  She reminded him that he'd given her the choice to either run the 1500m or the 5,000m and she chose the 1500m because she wanted to see if she could break 5 mins.  He told her she was wrong and that she WAS running the 5,000m, which would be an hour and a half later.  Keep in mind that with the 1500m, you have to run only 4 laps around the track.  With the 5,000m,  you have to run 12 laps around the track!  So, he sprang that on her at the last minute when she thought she'd be done racing after her 1500m.

Long story short, she ended up running the race and didn't do as well as she would have liked with a time of 19:33...her PR is 19:03. She called to tell us as we were driving home.  She said her calves locked up on her and her breathing was off.  I told her we were still very proud of her and that sometimes, when life throws you a curve ball, you just have to back your ears and deal with it the best you know how.  At this point, she hasn't determined whether or not she'll continue to run in college.  Things have really taken a nose dive since the new coach was hired back in the fall. Most of the original team has already left because they weren't happy with the way things were going. So, as you can surely imagine, it's been a long, hard road.

On a lighter note, Chris has another job interview scheduled for June 1st with another company that he's really excited about.  Keep those prayers coming...they're definitely being answered!