Barrier Busted

Track season is well underway here in Boise.  Adam has run in three meets so far, and he missed one because of a sore knee.  The first couple of meets were typical for Idaho spring track--cold, blustery, rainy, windy, and generally miserable.  Seriously, I was secretly wishing that we could return to the cross country season where there's just one race to watch.  If it's yucky weatherwise, at least we only have to shiver for 20 minutes or so.  In track the 1600 is run near the beginning of the meet, and the 3200 is at the end. This can make for a long, uncomfortable afternoon. Fortunately, we finally got a decent day on Thursday.  This track meet was going to be fun!

Adam, up until Thursday, has had kind of a mediocre track season.  He just hasn't seemed to be himself on the track.  He's been too uptight and tentative and, in his words, was "thinking about it too much."  So last week he decided to simply run and let everything else, time and placement, take care of itself.  I told him at the beginning of the season, "If you have fun when you run, then you've won."  What I wanted to tell him was, "Just run, boy!"



This is one of Adam's typical expressions before a race.
It's hard for me to see him so stressed.  Just have fun, son!!



By the time the gun goes off, he's usually much more focused and less stressed.

Happily, on Thursday he did just that: he simply ran.  He's been wanting to break the five-minute mile barrier for a while now but just hadn't been able to quite bust through.  That blessed day came on Thursday.  I can't explain it adequately, but he just looked different on the track.  He ran 4:57.53, about five seconds faster than his personal record, and even though it was just a matter of a few seconds, I rejoiced.  He finally looked like he was having fun.  He was running with abandon and loving the experience.  Victory!

I got a couple of pictures of the race that tell more of a story than I realized they would.  Adam has had two good running friends since he started cross country in the fall:  Micah, a sophomore, and Austin, a senior.  Both of them have taken him under their wing and really helped him to develop as a runner.  They both wanted him to break five minutes almost as much as he wanted it for himself.  As a mother, I've been tremendously grateful that he has found good friends that help to build his confidence.

Austin is in the grey sweatshirt behind the hurdles.  He is WILLILNG
Adam on to the finish line and shouting his time.  He's been a great
 example and support to Adam.  He's off to BYU this fall.

Micah is in the white shirt.  He, too, is well aware of the time and is
cheering like mad to get Adam to the line in under five.  You can see
on his face that he knows Adam's going to do it.

Several years ago, we promised Adam that we'd take him to Angell's, one of the nicer restaurants here in town, if he were to break the five-minute barrier. He reminded us of that after the race and made us pay up.  So, last night we went out for a really nice meal.  It was a lot of fun, me sitting there with my three boys/men and just enjoying their company.  I adore my family, and I especially love when one of them meets a long-time goal.  Good job, little man!