I had a pretty good idea what I wanted to write about today
as I had meant to write it for the last week or so. Between soccer practices and classes and
whatever life throws at you…the best laid plans of mice and men.
Anyone who has been reading knows that myself and a bunch of
friends would be running the Wild West Relay this summer. For those out of the know, it is a relay race
between Fort Collins and Steamboat Springs amounting to 200 miles, thirty hours
and blood, sweat and beers. I have said it before and I'll say it again, it's among the dumbest most fun activities that one can accomplish. I was one
hundred percent sure that this would be the topic of this week’s post, but then
today, and specifically, my eldest child Avery, happened.
I’ll start with the race.
We had a very good team this year and were running with a good cause
(click here if you still want to contribute, hint hint).
By very good team, it was fast, but it also was made up of great people,
veterans and rookies and everything in between.
I fall in both the veteran category for my experience with the race and
rookie based on my ability. The race
consists of twelve runners each running three legs of varying difficulty. The team is split into two vans that each run
eighteen legs a piece.
Our van has one really challenging set of legs only to be
given the most experienced and talented of runners. Ours was a girl named Mary Alice. She is a spectacular runner and a ton of fun
as well. Great on the road and in the
van as well. As luck would have it, our
A+ runner twisted her ankle just one mile into the relay. Ugh, disaster. She was able to finish her first and easiest
leg, but lo and behold, she would be unable to run her two most difficult legs,
certainly not for lack of trying.
Long story short, I watched a team rally together. Each of the runners picked up miles here and
there and Mary Alice continued to try to run what her body would let her
do. At the end of the day, what I saw
was my favorite running team I have been a part of. There is always a sense of camaraderie on
these things, but what I witnessed was a group that refused to quit and did it
all with an astonishing sense of humor and resolve. As luck would have it, the other van
experienced the same sort of injury and the same sort of teamwork. In the end, we finished seventh in our
division and number one in our hearts.
Which brings me to Avery.
Today she played in day one of a soccer tournament, on day one of her
season and the first game with a new team.
She had every reason to be nervous and a lot of room for excuses. She wouldn’t need any.
Her team was over-matched and the temperature sat just under
100 degrees. She didn’t start the game
and occupied the bench for the first ten minutes. When she finally got in she showed a ton of
hustle and played hard for the rest of the first half, never returning to the
bench. It was clear that she was hot and
tired as the half wound down. She
started the second half and showed a ton of moxie as she maintained a high
level of intensity despite the temperature.
Over and over again the coach substituted players as they stopped
pursuing opposing goal-scorers due to the heat and the overwhelming score
deficit. Avery’s number was never
called for substitution. She played the entire second half and hustled
when necessary. She was very
impressive. The team lost, sure, but
they have just started playing together. They will get better. When the final whistle blew, Avery looked
tired and disappointed in the score. She
should have been proud.
The lesson here girls.
It’s one you have heard before.
It applied to the running team and it applied to Avery in her game. Leave it all on the field. Try your heart out and you can pat yourself
on the back when it’s all over. Yeah,
you lost, so did we. But when all is
said and done, I’ll take the girl who busts her tail until she can’t give any
more. I’ll say it about Avery, I’ll say
it about Mary Alice and I’ll say it about the rest of the teams both soccer and
running. Winning is great. Winning feels amazing but nothing, and I mean
nothing in the world of sports feels better than knowing that you had nothing
left in the tank and nothing left to give when the final whistle blows or when
you cross the finish line.
Congratulations Avery and congratulations Tutus. Your dad and your teammate, in that order,
couldn’t be prouder.
***
Over the next couple of weeks I will be mentioning local companies that sponsored our running team and Dash for Nash without hope for anything in return short of the warm feeling of helping someone in need. If you need the services they offer please consider the fact that they are a Northern Colorado company with local interests at heart. Thank you!
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