Lia's Conference Cross Country Meet

After two months of running her heart out, Lia wrapped up her first season of cross country yesterday with an all-district meet at Bradley Lake Park.  After asking Lia Wednesday night if she wanted me to bring balloons or a sign to the meet, she simply replied that she wanted me to bring grandma instead.  Since my mom normally does not make the drive down to P-town to attend my children's sporting events, I didn't know if this was a possibility.  However, after calling my mom that evening and telling her that her presence was my teenage daughter's only request, her heart melted and she and my dad decided to drive down yesterday.  Since my dad does not enjoy standing out in the cold for extended periods of time, he opted to stay at my house and take a nap which was perfect for me as it allowed me to leave a napping Emmett behind instead of having to wake him up early and drag him out into the rainy weather.

Although the rain held off all day long, it started sprinkling while my mom and I were driving to the park 30 minutes before the meet started.  Although it rained lightly on and off while we waited for the race to begin, it basically stopped by the time the girls started running at 3 p.m.  I was so relieved as it totally poured later last night.  Although all of Lia's other meets have always been against one other school, this meet was against all of the junior high schools in the district.  It was so cool to see all of the girls lined up at the starting line in all of their different colored uniforms.  After the horn blew, all 77 girls took off running on a winding, 2-mile course around the park including two laps around Bradley Lake.  Lia quickly fell into the second major group of runners and kept this same pace the entire race right behind Jaqueline, the other runner on her team who she is always competing with.  Although Jaqueline has run faster than Lia at every meet this season except for one, Lia punched ahead of her at the very end when they ran through a section of the forest right before coming out onto the grassy area that led to the finish line.  I was so surprised and thrilled when I saw Lia emerge from the trees ahead of her running buddy!  Lia powered through to the finish line just ahead of Jacqueline and came in 16th place out of 77 girls and beat her best, 2-mile record by 1 minute and 32 seconds with an unbelievable time of 13 minutes and 48 seconds.  My mom and I were both so proud of Lia and amazed at her new personal record and so happy that she was able to finish off this cross country season on such a positive note!

Lia standing with her teammates at the starting line.

Lia running off with a huge pack of girls at her side.

A picture of most of the girls running off at the beginning of the race.

Lia approaching us after making her first lap around the lake.

A close-up of Lia running past us.

Lia running by us again after running a second lap around the lake.  Her friend, Jaqueline, is in front of her in this picture.

Another close-up of Lia as she passes us the second time.

Lia emerging out of the woods and onto the grassy area that led towards the finish line.

Lia giving it her all at the very end!

Lia running her heart out!  I just love this picture.

Lia passing us and running to the finish line.

Lia crossing over the finish line with Jaqueline right behind her.

Lia and all of her teammates proudly posing for a group picture after the race was over.

Since this was our first district race, we had no idea that they were going to do a little awards ceremony at the end.  After hanging around for several minutes talking to Lia and taking pictures, my mom and I decided to leave not knowing that the top 20 runners in the race were going to be called up one at a time to get a ribbon.  So, unfortunately, we missed this, but I was still so happy to take this picture of Lia with her "Top 20" ribbon after she got home later in the afternoon.

On a personal note, I just want to add how this entire cross country experience has been such an answer to prayers for Lia and me.  She was so nervous about heading back to this junior high where she literally only knew a handful of girls.  She really didn't have any friends in any of her classes and had no one to sit with at lunch.  After starting this sport the second week of school, everything changed for her.  Lia immediately became friends with a really nice group of girls and suddenly had two friends to eat lunch with and friends to spend every afternoon with for two hours .  This experience has not only given her friends at her new school, but has provided an opportunity for her to discover a sport that she now loves and has helped her to gain confidence and find success.  I am so grateful for all of the positives that have come out of this sport and I just want Lia to remember that Heavenly Father truly hears and answers our prayers.  Way to go, Lia!  I am so proud of you and can't wait to watch you run your heart out for many years to come!