Colin Runs

Autumn is my favorite season. I love when the weather cools down a touch, the schedule tightens up a bit and there are so many things to look forward to - birthdays, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year. This past fall we had an extra awesome thing to look forward to - Our new grandson Jett came 11/11/11!

Colin is a fan of autumn, too. Colin is a runner. Summer is so hot for running, and he actually prefers winter type weather for training. Fall gives him hope that it will cool down soon.
Colin is pretty much the only athlete in our family, although Lauren did a few seasons of softball and ice skating. It is kind of strange - I get the Athletic Patron program a little better, we bought CHS sport stickers for my vehicle, we have someone in our family who uses the field house and we have gone to sports banquets. The things we do for our kids.

But it is super fun to watch Colin run. He totally loves it, as per his usual habits of interest - If he likes something, he loves it. If he is not interested, he does not do it. End of story.

It has been so great to see him grow as an athlete. When he first started running he wasn't too bad - He is a kid - Kid's know how to run. But watching him over the last few years growing taller, get stronger and improving his endurance and stride, what a difference! 

He just gets faster with each race.

All the guys on the team are really good, especially to each other. They cheer for each member of the team and congratulate one another, even if someone else had a better race.

They are focused and dedicated. They work so hard at practices, usually running five to ten miles six days a week, sometimes more. Sometimes they play mind or word games while running, jump in someone's pool, play in the river or on the ice. Other times they might have really difficult training like sprinting a half mile, take a very short break and repeat. Like ten times in a row. Ugh.

That practice pays off though. On race days, a 5K feels like a walk in the park (unless it is Cass Benton at Hines Park - very tough course). Spectators watch from different vantage points, usually moving to another spot when the runners pass. We mosey on over to the finish line to encourage the runners to run as fast as they can. It is good being a spectator.

After the race, and the cool down run (how running more cools you down is a little bit of a mystery, but it works), food. They have bagels and fruit - refueling. I bet they are pretty darn hungry after a meet.

(On the eve of a big meet, the boys and girls teams get together at someone's house for a pasta party - Fueling up for the race!)

All these boys are pretty great, but in a non-biased judgement, this one is the best. Really. There are a million reasons why that is true, so take my word for it.

The number one reason though, is that he is ours.

(By the end of the season, Colin earned his Varsity letter for Cross Country and took off almost a full minute from his first race to the last. I think his personal best 5K is at 17 min 49 sec.)