Yesterday Catherine had her second meet of the season. This was only a middle school meet, so we left Thomas and Robert here at the house. It was miserable and there was no need for all of us to experience it.
If you read my post on seasons, you probably got the idea that it's pretty hot here right now. At race time, the heat index was over 90, although I am not certain of the exact degree. I can tell you that while I was standing in the SHADE doing absolutely NOTHING, sweat was dripping down my back. I was certain this did not bode well for Catherine's performance. This was a very, very large meet with well over a hundred runners (I checked official results, 140 runners to be exact). I thought perhaps this would motivate Catherine, and reminded her that with last week's time of 27:10, there was plenty of room for improvement.
Or not. Andrew positioned himself about half way through the course, and I was at the homestretch. Catherine reached the halfway point just a minute or so before the first runner finished. As she was finishing the race, no amount of cajoling, pleading, or even me trying to run with her could get her to run. Walking was it...until the last 100 yards where she flat out sprinted to a posted time of 27:14. So this week was four seconds slower than last week...not the direction we had hoped to take.
She has told us her strategy is to save something so she can sprint to the end. We understand, but there is so much walking happening during her race. Andrew has encouraged her to perhaps slow down at the start with the thought that perhaps she could push herself to jog more of the race instead of walking. Regardless, she is finishing the races and we are pleased with that...and not once has she asked to quit the sport. She is enjoying something about it, even if it isn't the running (which is kind of the point of cross country, right?). I am grateful that she is participating and that she is active, and I am grateful for supportive teammates!
No comments:
Post a Comment