Lia's State XC Meet

We just returned from a whirlwind trip to Pasco in Eastern Washington to cheer Lia on while she ran in her first XC state championship meet with her high school team.  Although she did not qualify as an individual runner, her team qualified which meant that she was able to go since Lia qualified to run on their girls Varsity team since she is one of the top seven runners.  I decided weeks ago that this quick trip would be easiest if we left the three younger children behind, so I asked Chris and Natalee to watch the kids since I have watched Trenton and Riley several times over the years when Natalee has needed to go out of town in the summer.  So, although Lia left bright and early with her team at 8 a.m. on Friday, Ron and I didn't leave until 5:30 that evening since Ron had to work and I had to make the two hour, round-trip drive to drop the kids off in Port Orchard.  Although Snoqualmie Pass had been closed most of the night due to the first winter storm of the season, it was open by that morning, so we were able to make the 3.5 hour drive to Pasco without any complications.

I had also arranged to stay in the same hotel as Lia's team just so that we could be under the same "roof" as her for this first time staying in a hotel without adult supervision.  It was fun to check in on Lia and her new friend, Hope, who were assigned to share a room after we arrived late Friday night.  After dropping off some items for Lia and saying 'goodnight,' Ron and I crashed in our bed around 11 p.m.  We woke up to a very cold morning, but with beautiful blue skies.  The only problem mother nature provided was crazy winds that were actually blowing the night before.  We learned that these athletes would be required to run in 26 mph winds during all of their races that day which meant that most runners would run 30 to 40 seconds slower than their normal pace.  So Ron and I quickly figured out that Lia would most likely not accomplish her goal of getting a PR and finishing off this season on a high note like we all had hoped.

After eating breakfast in the hotel with Lia, she left to get ready to arrive early at the golf course where the race would be help with the rest of her team.  Ron quickly packed up and left to watch his high school run in the 3A girls race at 11 a.m.  He then dashed pack to the hotel to pick me up with enough time to make it back to watch his high school boys race at 12:30.  We then stayed at the golf course and waited for Lia's race to start at 1:30.  We were able to find Lia at her high school tent to warn her about the wind factor before wishing her well and heading back to the starting line.  Lia's race started right on time and we enjoyed watching her run by us six different times due to how the course was laid out.  Since Lia was running with the top girl runners in the state, she fell to the back of the pack which her coach had warned her would most likely happen.  However, that didn't stop us from cheering her on and from being so proud of her for making this huge accomplishment as a young 9th grader.  Although the strong winds prevented Lia from beating any of her previous 5k times, we were so happy to be there to watch her race in this important meet and to cheer her on from the sidelines!

The huge pack of girls taking off from the starting line after the horn blew.  Lia's head is barely visible behind the pack of girls wearing the light blue jerseys.

The girls running up the first hill just after starting the race.

Lia running past us her first time after the starting the race.

Lia running off in the distance to the right of the tree.

Lia running by us a second time.

Lia running towards the finish line.

Lia finishing off her first state championship meet.  Hopefully, this will not be her last!

Posing with Lia after finding her back at the team tent.

Lia and the rest of her girls XC team.  Although seven girls ran in the race, two alternates were able to travel with the team in addition to some of the JV girls who traveled to Pasco with their families to cheer on their team.