Kick it in...

Thank you purple lady!

“It was hard.”

This was Delaney’s first response when I asked her what she thought about the race on Saturday.

Delaney and I signed up as a mother/daughter team for the Willow Bay 5K Women’s Run/Walk. We would run together. Her goal for this run was not to walk as much, to bring a good attitude, and to have fun. When we toed the start line she mentioned another goal to me—to finish in under 30 minutes.

I nodded, “Let’s go for it.”

We moved closer to the start. Delaney pressed one finger in each ear as the official held the starting gun in the air.

BANG!

Delaney took off. Did she remember this was a 3.1-mile run?

I didn’t want to knock the wind out of her sails so let her control the pace. At the one-mile mark, she was breathing harder and looked tense.

I continued to encourage her, “Let’s pace ourselves and we can walk anytime.”

She looked at me, “Mom, I need to walk.”

“Okay.”

For the next 1.5 miles, we walked and ran. We cheered for the women passing us. We stuck together. It wasn’t until after the turnaround point that Delaney inquired about the time.

“Will we make it in 30 minutes?”

“No.”

“Darn.”

“Let’s see if we can get under 35 minutes. Do you want to try?”

She nodded.

“Okay, keep your eyes ahead and look at the lady in the purple shirt. Let’s try and catch her.”

I watched Delaney’s eyes move from the ground to the purple lady. We had less than a mile to go. She began to pick up the pace.

“Let’s catch her Mom.”

“Alright girl, we can do it!”

She found a new gear. Her head was up. Her eyes focused on the finish line. I heard her whisper—I can do this, I can do this.

I smiled the rest of the way.

We kicked it in and passed the purple lady. We crossed the finish in under 35 minutes.

We were met with cheers, fist pumps, and water. I was so proud of her. Delaney turned to me, “We beat the purple lady!”

“Yes, we did. She helped us didn’t she.”

Delaney nodded and smiled.

We will keep training for life.

Yes, it was hard and she kept going. It was hard and she didn’t give up.

Thank you for reading,

Julie

Finishers!

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