Exactly one year ago I wrote this post about my love of track and field. The occasion for that post was the sub-section track meet my two oldest daughters competed in. Tonight was that same meet, but whereas last year it marked the end of the season, this year my oldest daughter lives to throw again another day.
If you use the link above and read about last year's meet you'll know how and why her season ended. On that night she made up her mind she would advance beyond sub-sections next year, which is now this year, which was now tonight.....or something like that. A year of physical and mental growth, a winter of lifting weights, and a spring of practices developing technique led to improved distance and consistency in throwing both the discus and shot put. Tonight she put together enough solid throws in both events to place fourth in both and advance to next week's section finals. I am so thrilled for her and proud of her, and happy to see her realize the rewards of perseverance and hard work. A big "Hip hip hooray" for my Daughter One.
If you did as you were told and read my original track-loving post (would you just go read it already?) you may have noticed little mention of Daughter Two at last year's meet; she struggled, to say the least, her season ending in tears after some of the worst high jumps of her season. She, too, has had a year to develop physically and spent many hours with her sister in the weight room. However, muscles can only go as far as the brain will take them - the barriers facing Daughter Two are all mental. She loses confidence easily and is quick to convince herself "I can't" or "I won't". But she's starting to figure out how to believe in "I will". This year's meet was held at a track she has, in the past, labeled as the place she does her worst jumping. Tonight she cleared that mental hurdle and cleared the high jump bar as well, tying her PR and claiming fifth place in the meet after coming in ranked ninth in the sub-section. How about a big "Hip hip hooray" for Daughter Two as well?
And I'd be remiss if I didn't ask for and belt out a couple more "Hip hip hoorays" for our girls and boys track teams, who each brought home a trophy for Sub-Section Team Champions. Our track program is second to none - literally!
Track meets are awesome.....and I hate that word! (Look for that word, and more, in an upcoming feature called "All the Words I Hate"). By this time in the season teams and athletes are pretty familiar with each other, so it's common to see people from different teams cheering for each other and asking one another about results.....even saw several instances of coaches urging on runners from other teams who were competing against the coach's own athletes! The hugs, the handshakes, the high fives, and the smiles are everywhere. Winners are everywhere; finish second to last in a race but do it in your best time? Winner!!
Track meets are also exhausting for spectators, and after five hours at today's meet, which turned into tonight's meet, this track fan, track parent, and writer has stumbled into rambling mode. Time to wrap this entry up and get some shut-eye, but not before exclaiming once again:
I Love Track Season!!
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