No place I’d rather be

Tuesday and Thursday nights are running nights.  That’s just the way it is.  Period.  Must run on Tuesday.  Now that we are in the midst of marathon training, this is mandatory.  Even if it means running at 10pm to get the run in.  Last night (Tuesday night) we had the Peachbud 5k race that the kids wanted to do.  Nancy, Noah and Gracie were signed up for it and the race was at 7pm.  So, I’m thinking “no problem, I’ll run when we get home afterwards.  It’ll take some juggling, but I’ll make it happen.”  This is a kind of a big thing for me, changing up my plans I already had set in my head.  It’s not something we Van Helverts do well, or at all.  Changing our plans on the fly.  If you throw this monkey wrench at us, we’ll look dumbfounded at you for a while and say “…but, but, no.  I can’t do that.” 

Nancy had come home from a tough day at work.  She was in a foul mood and walked in the door with her and Gracie going at it.  Gracie was looking for some favourite pair of shorts to wear for the race and couldn’t find them.  So, now Gracie is her over the top emotional usual self and crying because mom is being loud and abrupt with her and Nancy is on the verge of tears because of her tough day and Gracie getting on her case before she even gets in the door.    Noah is being his usual “put myself down” pre-teen and saying “I’m gonna do bad in the run.”  And he knows this because he hasn’t run at all since the DSBN race in the early spring.  So, I’m trying to calm them all down and say “hey, this is supposed to be a fun night.  Let’s all just relax and have fun at the race.  Just go and have a good time.”  

 As we’re headed out the door, I say to Nancy “do you know how to get there?”  Ok, now her anxiety has just stepped up a notch as she hasn’t had time to lookup the directions to the race and she’s sure that we’re going to get lost or “worse than anything for her” “be late.”  I chuckle at this as she’s such a “plan to the last detail” type that this is soooo out of character for her.  I say “no worries, I’ll figure it out.  I’ve been there before.”  This does NOT help her, but is the usual me, which I’m sure drives her nuts and is probably why she is such a “planner.”

 On the drive there I miss what we think is the correct off ramp from the highway.  Nancy’s anxiety rises some more.  I say “no problem, I think it’s actually the next ramp.  I’ll drive by the start and drop you guys off and you can get your race bib, then I’ll park and meet up with you somewhere.” 

For the record:  the next exit WAS the correct exit and I got us there no problem, with plenty of time to get race kits and even time to spare.

Trekking the long walk from where I parked my sister and dad meet up with me, much to my delightful surprise.  My mom is there too.  All come to cheer on the kids.  How nice!

So, I take some pre-race pictures of everyone and then the race starts and we now wait until they come around the corner to ring our cow bells and cheer like crazy and take more pictures. 

    

Noah crosses the finish line in about 33 minutes and is disappointed as he had to walk a few times and he’s just not a fast as he used to be.  Nancy and Gracie come around the corner and sprint the last few 100 meters to the finish.  Gracie with a big smile on her face as she realizes she’s going to beat her expected previous 5k time of 41 minutes and does an awesome 37 minutes.  I can see the Van Helvert stubbornness/determination in her as she runs past me.  Beautiful. 

Hugs all around as I meet up with them at the finish line.  Gracie is soo happy and tired.  I’m proud as a peacock as my Sweatpea smokes a great time and she’s so excited. 

And Nancy is now smiling big and all happy.  Hey, when did that happen?  She later tells me about talking to Gracie the whole 5k and passing someone who was really struggling with finishing (what we assume was her first 5k).  Nancy is now realizing just how far she’s come as a runner, recalling her first few 5ks and how much of a struggle it was.  She finds this race so easy and really appreciates how strong a runner she is now.  Then she thanks Gracie for a fast finish, as it felt really good to run hard.  I think she ran out those demons from earlier in the day.  Woo! Score for Nancy all around.

Best part of my night was walking back to the car and Gracie comes up beside me and holds my hand, (which is unusual as she usually stuck to mom) and says “thanks dad, for coming to see me run.  I really appreciate it.”

Priceless. 

I live for those moments. 

Hopefully this memory will be burned into her little brain and is a sweet memory in years to come, as I’m sure to disappoint and frustrate her down the road.  Hey, parents always do that, right?  No matter how hard we try not to.

I look at her and say “Sweatpea, there’s no place I’d rather be.”    

p.s. got home at 9 pm and got my run in.  5k with dog around the block.  Because you see, we're all runners in my family, and you just can’t keep a good runner down.