I am a father of 5 that fell in love with running and I am trying to be an inspiration to my kids. Most of my miles are logged on the dreaded treadmill.
I am always looking for a challenge and am willing to challenge myself.
In the process of trying to hit her goal, the Peanut had several obstacles in her way. If you've ready some of the earlier posts, specifically Update #1, you would know that this little girl is an All-Star Cheerleader. So, not only was she having to deal with the fatigue from running...she had cheer practice and competitions to "help". She also had different appointments that derailed days, and rain days. In order to help make up some of this, her teachers gave her the option during the final week to make up these sessions and to run at recess instead of playing. She jumped at the opportunity knowing how close she was. What 9 year old do you know chooses to run instead of play with her friends!? Well, my determined little Peanut did.
100 MILES........
Unofficially she completed her 100 miles on May 21st, 2021 while waiting for her sister to pick her up. On May 26th, 2021 it was officially confirmed in front of the whole school that she was 1 of 12 kids in 3rd through 6th grade to get 100 miles. And that was 12 out of around 140-150 kids in 3rd-6th grade. In the ultrarunning world, completing a 100 mile event nets you a belt buckle....they get trophies. If they complete 100+ miles all 4 years the also get a special plaque during their 6th grade year. She has her sights set on a plaque. I may have to surprise her and get her a custom belt buckle. (Side note: Maybe by then I will have earned my 100 mile buckle.)
To cap off her accomplishment, she was the onlygirl. You read that right, she was the ONLY GIRL out of probably 70-ish girls in the eligible class range to hit 100 miles!
This girls accomplishments are TOTALLY going to eclipse anything that I have set for myself or that I will ever do. I can't wait to see what the future holds for this girl......except that mom and I don't want her to grow up too fast.
The Next Part........
So, the Peanut has been watching documentary's as part of her journey to running 100 miles. She has 1 line/brand/race that she has been watching specifically. I'll give you a hint at which one, no female finisher in its history with only 15 finishers ever. Frozen Head State Park. The Yellow Gate.
Got it yet!? No!? Okay, it is the Barkley Marathons created by Lazarus Lake.
We started throwing around the idea of doing a "mockumentary" about the race. We are putting together a story so that we can create a 5+ minute mockumentary with the Peanut being the "star". Now that school has let out for the year I plan to try to get a final version of the "what". We already have a location, a la the Century Club trail. I also need a list of props and other people to take part..... I think that I am biting off a lot more than any video that I have ever done before, but for my kids I will do a lot. And it should be just as fun as it is stressful. Oh, and with it will come another surprise that you will have to wait to find out about.
I am sure you have been asking, "Where is the latest update? I need to know how Peanut is doing. Did she finish early? Is she behind? INJURED!?!?!!" Well, I have been meaning to post about her latest totals and attitude, but all I can say is life and laziness/forgetfulness. My apologies to her following. But, here we are with the latest on the Peanut Project!
Spirits......
She is in good spirits. Great even! She gets done after school and calls or texts her mom and I with her lap count for the day. She gets so excited in the mornings because she knows that she will get to run soon. She also gets upset if she gets to school when the teachers are walking out. That means she is missing at 10-15 seconds of running time. The few times this has happened she tries to make up for it and JETS down the path to catch the leaders. Even though we have had the talks about going out too fast and causing ourselves to walk too much, she still does this. I can't blame her. We ALL know what race day is like once you hit the starting line. You intend on sticking to your plan, but throw it out the window when the gun goes off. You feed off the energy of everyone around you until you realize your mistake. Except, she gets race day everyday for 6+ weeks.
Running Thumbelina Flying
Mileage.....
As of the last post, Update #2, we had Jocelynn at 23.75 miles. Our count was off because her teachers actually had her at 24.75 miles. Even though I created a spreadsheet to help calculate the mileage ran, miles left, days ran, days left to run.....we all make mistakes. And she can give me a lap count that she thinks is right, but is over or under. Since that first adjustment, we have had to adjust our count 3 times total. All for the better though. She seems to have under reported her laps. With the most recent adjustment and laps that she just reported to me today she has covered 89 MILES on those little 9 year old Peanut legs!!!! I got permission this week to go grab a couple of photos of her while she was running. Those are what you are seeing here. Mom's reaction to the one up and to the right, "Get it girl!"
My Challenge and Sierra's (GVRAT).....
I am SO...FAR...BEHIND! As of yesterday I have made it 12.78 miles out of the 68.07 miles that I am supposed to have done so far. I have let so many things get in my way....mainly myself. I have a plan on how to catch up though. I have found routes and have done some tests on how I can use my lunch at work and get 2-3 miles in each day. Well, as long as it doesn't rain like it did today. Then my path is all mud! And I can't do the same pace in mud, nor can I walk back into work all muddy. I may have to try to plan a backup plan of heading to the gym and running a couple/few miles and risk coming back to work a little sweaty. But, I can do it. And I will do it!
Sierra is trying, but not faring well either. After a strong start for her she has gone 6.7 out of the 13 miles she had planned. She easily has enough time to make up the missing 6.3 miles and blow it out of the water. She is even following the route that we set up when she visits her mom's to get in a mile or more. I am proud of her for undertaking her own challenge.
There are things that your kids do that make you say to your spouse, "He/She is your child right now!" And then there are things that make you say, "THAT'S MY DAUGHTER/SON!!!" I fully attribute the competitive and determined attitude that my Peanut has to my wife. She has a similar nature; as can also be seen in our other children. Let me break down what brings this to mind....
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".
Wednesday evening came........
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"
