Cross Country

Today we started a whole new chapter in sports:  Cross Country.  It was actually Christian’s second Jr. High meet, but since we were away for the first one, it was the first time we were able to go and cheer him and his team on.

We’ve always enjoyed watching our son play various sports.  He had quite a few years with soccer and then basketball, so cross country is completely new to us.  He’s been practicing with his team for the past few weeks and has really enjoyed and done a great job with it.

He has two coaches that are doing a great job and that is a blessing as well.

For the record, I’m pretty sure that Christian was standing up on the curb, so he officially is not taller than his Dad.  He is now a few inches taller than me, which is a little weird since I now technically look up to him when we are standing side by side.

Quick shout out to the little sisters of the world.  She’s spent quite a bit of time at her brother’s practices and games and for the most part has been pretty good about it.

I think I was more nervous than he was.  Running is not easy, and even more so when you are competing against others.  However, that is one of my favorite things about cross country.  Yes, it’s a team sport, but more so, it’s very much an individual sport where you are trying to compete against yourself.  There’s something powerful to fueling that desire to be better than you were last time.  I’m excited to see how far Christian will grow this season as he continues to work hard and push himself to do better and better.

Christian has good friends on his team and it was fun to be there to cheer for them as well.

After the girls raced, it was time for the boys to line up.  They ran a solid mile today.  Last time it was a little longer, so I guess it fluctuates a bit from race to race.

After they took off, we waited.  Not being able to see the kids run the whole time is probably the bummer about cross country.  However, it was super exciting seeing them finally come around that last bend.

We were so proud of Christian and all the kids, really.

When it was over, he came in 12th place, out of the 7th and 8th grade boys that all ran together.  His mile time was 6:57, which is way faster than I could ever dream to be.  He worked hard and was proud of his race and we were proud of him as well.

After dumping water on his head to cool down, he went off to join his team for their final stretches.  All in all, it was a great meet and we are excited for his next on which will be on Thursday.  Today was kind of our official start back into normal life, and I think we’re pretty much excited and ready for everything that fall has to bring.