Sunday came........
Jocelynn and I went out on a run/walk on Sunday to "wake her legs up" as she put it. Now, while runners know that these type of runs exist (sometimes called shakeout runs) and know exactly what she means by it...it is still amazing to hear that kind of "wisdom" come out of my 9 year old's mouth. She was telling me about what she planned to do for her runs this week and asked about any days it was supposed to rain. Initially the forecast said small chance of rain on Wednesday and she was happy about that. She said that it meant she could get some good laps in for her miles.
Monday came........
She got 9 laps in out of the 10 she needs. She was okay with it, but said she hopes to be able to make up that lap quick. We checked the weather and she was not happy. They changed the forecast and it now said that it was supposed to be raining Tuesday night through Thursday night. She said that she would work with what she had and move on.
Tuesday came........
I got a message from Jocelynn the moment she walked in the door from school. "I'm disappointed in myself today I got eight laps" I tried to reassure her that it was still good that she got 8 laps in for the day. She wasn't having it. While I know that she is only 9, I told her to chalk it up to an off day and she still got some in. Her response started with a very straight, "NO". She was so upset that she even called mom complaining about how upset she was with herself and that she expects more. We finally got her to accept her lap count and look forward to the next day she got to run.
Wednesday came........
Jocelynn and her sisters had a chiropractor appointment early. It wasn't raining and still dry-ish out, so I knew if it held off it she would be running. I told her as much and she responded with, "It better wait until I am done, I need my laps today!" She is so determined that she was telling the weather, "You wait for me!" Fast forward to after school and she messaged me and was excited because she was able to run and she reported that she was able to get her 10 laps in. She later confided that she was upset she didn't make up any laps from the previous day, but she was still pleased with her results. The song below helps to personify the attitude she had. The lyric that sticks out the most with her attitude from Tuesday to Wednesday to me is, "You gotta conquer the monster in your head and then you'll fly. Fly, phoenix, fly".
We started talking about it raining today (Thursday) and how she won't be able to run. She looked at me dead serious, "Dad, I AM running." Tried to remind her that because if it is raining that they don't run. Also saying that is what she was worried about on Monday when we looked at the weather for the week. I again got the same, "Dad, I AM running." A few minutes after she told me that she understood, but that she hopes that it isn't raining so that she can get her run in.
Thursday came........
She looked outside and saw that it was wet, but not actively raining. This was 45 minutes before they report to run. She told me that we will go a few minutes early to go check to see if they were running Century Club today. All I could do as a proud parent was support her and take her at the requested time. She was disappointed that it had started lightly raining when we were leaving, but still wanted to go to the school and check. No other kids, no teachers....they weren't running. So, we went to get her some breakfast and a water (normally eats at school) to pass the time. She said she hopes it isn't raining after school so she could run.
Mileage........
As she was eating, Jocelynn brought up that today is the day that they post their miles so far. This helped her perk up as she has been excited to hear how far she has gone so far by my records. (23.75 miles as my record goes.) We don't know how they were recording versus her count and me recording. I may have missed miles due to some earlier rain days. So, it is now 1:50 PM and it is a little misty outside; which would stop them from running due to "rain". I will find out in the next 35+ minutes if she got to run and what her mileage is by their count.
Side Note........
Jocelynn got a message from the famed female ultrarunner, Courtney Dauwalter. Jocelynn doesn't know this yet. She will get to read what she wrote later. To keep you from having too much suspense, she wrote "Very cool! Jocelynn - you are strong and amazing and inspiring! Keep chipping away at it. You got this! -Courtney"
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