I was so proud of Eve and her confidence yesterday! So happy that I was there to witness it. Yesterday was our final Girls on the Run practice before the big 5K race on Saturday. We were running laps around the field and the goal was to get 12 laps, which equals three miles. We joke a bit that our team should be called Girls on the Walk, because they aren’t real motivated to run this year, but yesterday Eve decided she was going to run the whole time and get those 12 laps! That alone was awesome. She was running with her best friend for a bit, then her friend started walking and Eve kept running. She caught up with me (and by caught up I mean I was a full lap behind her!) and, quite upset, told me that her friend was crying and mad at her because she wanted to keep running but her friend wanted them to walk together. She had told her friend that she was trying to do her personal best (something we talk A LOT about) and that she had set a goal for herself and wanted to achieve it. I totally encouraged that!! She kept running when I had to stop and walk too. I caught up with her friend soon after and we had a nice long chat. It’s hard to tell girls to just do their personal best and not try to compare, because they do compare and her friend was really upset that Eve’s “best” was better than her “best.” She was also upset because she wants to run the whole 5K with Eve and cross the finish line together, but since Eve can run it and she can’t, she thinks it won’t be fun. I felt bad for both of them. Eve wanted to run, but didn’t want to make her friend sad, and her friend just wanted to hang out with Eve and be together. I chatted with both of them and Eve made a plan to do her best, then jump back on the track when she saw her friend finishing so they could cross the finish line together (Eve for the second time).

I was so proud of Eve for standing her ground and working hard though. She ran 13 laps and was so proud of herself! She is now confident that she can run that 5K and excited for Saturday. Growing up is hard to do, but I’m so happy to see her growing confident and strong and still being a good friend. She often finds herself in tricky friend situations because she wants to be friends with everyone, but she’s hit the age where the drama begins. We talk a lot about how to navigate that scene while still remaining true to yourself. I’m so proud of her!

We spent today at Eve’s third, and final (for the season) track meet. It was hot and sweaty and fun. Mandy joined us for the weekend and came to the track meet. Eve has a great time. Fast and friendly. :)

We bought a new tent (easy up, one up, awning… there seems to be many names for them). Last night Eve decided it would be fun to make a sign! Good thing we are speedy with construction paper! :)

Eve did the running long jump, the 100m, and the 200m this time. This was the final meet for all of the rec teams in the state. It was by far our biggest meet yet!

Crossing the finish line of the 100m, way ahead of the crowd!

Eve didn’t do as well this meet. The long jump was slightly different and she faulted her first jump. Also There were so many people that they had to run heats for many of the races. Eve finished her heat in the 100m way ahead of the rest of the runners, but not fast enough to qualify in the finals. She was disappointed because she thought she had done so well. We had a long chat about beating your own time, not just the other people on the track. It was a different experience for her. Then we had to wait several hours before the 200m race and by that time she was hot and bored.

Crossing the finish line of the 200m.

Her final scores:
* Long jump – 6’2?
* 100m – 0:19.34
* 200m – 0:41.45

Driving home. Eve is protesting Alan’s choice in music. :)

Now we are home and crashed. Alan, Lex, and Mandy are playing Minecraft, Eve is “coaching” Mandy, and I am writing this. A friend just invited us to a local fair this evening for rides and fair food… but we are done. Well, Eve is raring to go, but the rest of us are happy to kick back. Maybe we’ll do the fair tomorrow. :)

I have been getting some serious quality time with Eve lately. With Lex away at camp last week and next week, Eve and I have been enjoying outings and quiet home time together. Today she had a track meet an hour away and the weather forecast was 60% chance of thunderstorms. The boys opted out. Fair weather fans!! Just kidding, it was really a group decision that made the most sense. So Eve and I packed up and hit the road on our own.

It turned out to be a very small meet with just two town rec teams competing. They were pretty flexible on the rules, everyone had fun, and we were done by noon. It only poured once, for just a few minutes. Not too hot. Not too cold. Great day overall.

Eve signed up for the Standing Long Jump, which is different than the Running Long Jump she did at the last meet. I don’t know who makes the rules, but the running jump wasn’t an option this time. She also signed up for the 100m and 200m dashes. She wanted to do 200m and 400m, but for some reason the 400m wasn’t available for her age group.

Standing Long Jump

The Standing Long Jump is not her cup of tea. Really she’s only done it twice and has very little idea of the proper form. She also had very little interest in learning and chatted her way through the whole thing.

Later in the day we were watching some of her friends to the Softball Throw (younger version of shotput, I think) and the lady asked Eve if she wanted a turn. Eve said sure, why not. Like I said, they were pretty laid back at this meet. :)

Softball Throw. Underhand? Overhand? It doesn’t matter!

Eve ran the 100m and came in a very close 2nd. The winner’s mom showed me a picture and they were both over the line at the same time, the other girl just a hair ahead. It was a pretty cool picture. :)

Later she ran the 200m and did awesome! I think her time was 40s. The coach will send me “official” times later. The race had three girls and one boy. The boy was way ahead of everyone, but Eve was first in the girls. She considered it a win.

Rocking the 200m!

I love this picture. Eve and I were walking back from the softball throw and the older girls were running the 800m sprint. Eve saw our top runner heading for the finish line and said, “Oh, I’m going to run in with her!” I love the enthusiasm and the show of support. I have no idea if the other girl even noticed, I didn’t get a chance to chat with her, but it made Eve happy at least. This girl will be running in the Junior Olympics next month!

Eve decided to “run it in” with her favorite runner. This girl is Olympic material and super nice.

Her times:
* 100m – 0:18.09
* 200m – 0:40.56 (about 1.5s faster than last time)

After the meet was over a bunch of the team went to Ben & Jerry’s for ice cream. It was less than a half mile away so Eve and I decided to walk. After getting ice cream we decided to go to Dunkin Donuts (seriously) to get me some ice tea for the drive home. Eve wanted to walk there but I wasn’t sure how far it was and the sky was looking threatening, so we walked back to the car and drove. The whole time I was there I kept thinking we should have walked. It wasn’t that far and it didn’t rain. Had we actually walked Murphy may have kicked in though, you never know!

The whole drive home I was thinking that I really should get some proper exercise today, so I decided to invite Lex for a walk. I haven’t had much QT with him lately. He politely said no thanks to taking an walk, and Eve excitedly asked to come with me, so Eve and I headed out for some more time together. Alan joked (kind of) that maybe mom needed a walk to get a break from Eve, but I couldn’t say no to her request to come. She’s so darn sweet and has been super encouraging of me to exercise lately. She wants me to run a 5K with her this fall. Eek.

So off we went. We ended up walking for two and a half hours, a bit longer than we were driving today! The sun came and went, the rain held off, and we had fun. We took a midway stop at the river to sit down and soak our feet. Well, Eve soaked hers, I wasn’t interested in taking off my shoes and socks.

Down by the river. I LOVE this girl.

Happiness is.

Practicing my selfies. Shoulders back, lady!

Now I am drinking a well earned glass of wine and getting ready to watch a movie with Alan. Life is good.