"Chicked" at the finish

Yesterday was the "Run for the Orphans" 4 mile trail race in Hudson. We all signed up for the 2-person relay: Denise and I for one team, Abby and Gina the other. The "Kids vs the Old folks"! The duel was on...

Actually, there was not much of a duel. This was Abby's first race and the plan was for Denise to run w/her for the first leg of 2 miles. Abby has been run/walking for 2 miles and this 2 mile leg would be a stretch for her, especially since she was sick in bed two days before the race! Before you call Social Services on us, we did give her the option to bag the race but Abby really wanted to run it... She is as stubborn as her father...

She did very very well! Denise and her ran the first mile and then took a short walk break. Then they ran again. This cycle continued for the second mile and as they started down the hill before the exchange point I shouted out to them "Go Denise and Abby!" We high-fived each other and Gina and I took off.

I planned to run with or just ahead of Gina to help push her a bit. I was having a blast running with her and she was telling me about how the Cross-country course meandered through the park. Her talking stopped when we hit the hills. I would pull away from her a bit as we went up hill and then I would let her catch back up during the down-hill section. As we neared the finish line Denise and Abby were there cheering us on. I was just running my pace when all of a sudden this white flash passed me! Gina had kicked in the after-burners and passed me just before the finish chute. I kicked it in a was just on her shoulder when we entered the chute...

I was "chicked" by my 13-year-old daughter! For those of you that don't know, being 'chicked' is when a girl passed you at the end of a race... Pretty funny term, and some guys take it much harder than others. Gina had this HUGE grin on her face as we walked through the finish area together. She said, "Of course I had to pass you at the end!" I honestly did not even think about it... I just know that it was a great morning and I would not have wanted it any other way!

Denise and Gina went to the swim team awards banquet where Gina once again won "Most Improved Swimmer". I am pretty proud of her and how hard she works in practice. She does what she is told and always seems to peak at the right time.

I then went out for 20 miles of trails. I took the first part way too fast and paid for it the last 2 miles. Good run, I am bored with the Twinsburg trails, but a good run nonetheless. I saw a wild turkey running through the woods, several deer of course, and a kamakazi squirrel. He was about head-level on the back-side of a tree as I ran by. I reached out my hand to steady myself as I slipped in the mud and almost grabbed the squirrel. I think I scared him as much as he scared me. As he tried to scurry away, it appeared that he was going to jump on me. He was just trying to get himself turned around as fast as he could. I chuckled for a while after that....

Denise and I went back out today for a 10 mile run together. I had some tired legs, but it is a good tired. This was the last big weekend before Mohican. Am I ready? We'll see. It is taper time and all I can do now is mess it up...