The Tortoise and The Hare...MY Version!

As you know, Saturday was a full day of track. We were out the door by 8:15 AM...no rest for the weary, as they say! It was about a 45 minute drive over there. It was pretty chilly when we arrived, and the wind was blowing strong and steady. OK, I say it was chilly, but it really was downright cold for the first several hours. Thank goodness I was smart enough this time to bring my fleece blanket for Abby and I to put across our laps. That baby was a life saver!

This is a picture I took of the sun coming up when we were on our way to the meet. I've put my "catch phrase" on it that I always share with my girls anytime they're working toward a goal. I want them to know and BELIEVE that they can accomplish anything they set out to do.

Brittany and 3 of her teammates competed in the first running event of the day, the 4x800. I'm telling you, those girls completely blew the competition away by a long shot! They finished in 1st place and were only a few seconds off from setting a new school record! Here they are just prior to their race. Bless their hearts...they were trying so hard to stay warm!
Here's Brittany waiting anxiously for the hand-off of the baton. I love how she's biting her bottom lip...nerves and adrenalin will do that to a person! :)After their first race, we had to sit around for almost 4 hours before Brittany ran, again. She was in 1600m against her best friend, Alicia, and current school record holder for that event. Brittany was worried because her PR for the 1600m was 5:40 and Alicia's record time was 5:32. This race was very important because the top two runners in each event will be chosen to compete in the county meet next Saturday. Here's Chris talking "strategy" with Brittany just like they do before each and every race. Everyone refers to him as "The Stat Man". Here's Brittany running in the 1600m. She was bound and determined to do well and...
she ended up setting a new school record with a time of 5:30! That's 10 seconds off her PR! Woo hoo! I was down by the track taking pictures and wasn't really keeping up with her time. After the race, I went back up in the stands and the father of one of Brittany's teammates said he had her clocked in with a time just under 5:31. I said, "Excuse me?"...I didn't think I heard him correctly, so I asked for clarification. He said, "She ran just under 5:31." About that time, Chris walked over and informed me that she had set a new school record! I don't know what happened, but at that very moment, I lost all of my inhibitions. I began jumping up and down, hootin' and hollering like no tomorrow! Abby had a mortified look on her face as if to say, "Mom, PLEASE calm down...you're embarrassing me!" I'm sorry, but when either of my girls succeed at something, that's the reaction they're going to get! I'm a believer in showing your kids how excited and proud you are...even if you do end up looking like monkey in the jungle! :)

So, we were on Cloud 9 all weekend long! However, we've learned that, as with any sport, the thrill of victory can last for awhile, or it can be gone in an instant. You simply can't take it for granted, and you have to work hard to stay on top of your game. Thanks to all of you, by the way, who wished her well in the meet and believed in her! We're going to do this all over, again, tomorrow night!

"Champions do not become champions when they win the event, but in the hours, weeks, months and years they spend preparing for it. The victorious performance itself is merely the demonstration of their championship character."~ T. Alan Armstrong

P.S. I have a funny story to share. About 12:40 AM this morning, the electricity went off in our house. In fact, the entire neighborhood went completely black. I'm not sure what happened. Anyhow, I was worried that I wouldn't know when it was time to get up. So, I got out of bed to head downstairs in search of my cell phone...Abby met me at the door wondering what had happened. She shined the light from her cell phone from the upstairs balcony so I could see what I was doing. About that time, the power came back on. So, I went up to her room to reset her clock. I sat down on her bed, in total darkness, and instructed Abby to hold the light from her phone close to her clock so I could see what I was doing. Abby said, "Mom, you know you can turn on my lamp", and she reached across from me and turned it on. We both got so tickled...we sat there for about 10 mins. laughing uncontrollably! She promised that she'd never let me live that one down. So, in the wee hours of this morning, I can honestly say that I wasn't the brightest light bulb in the socket! :)