Cross Country

Boys Varsity start September 22, 2007, Tama Hills

Since I don't think Patrick has even 10 spare minutes to write and tell you how his season is going, I'm going to give it a shot.

From the outside (Mom) perspective, he seems to be having a good season. He is running much better than he was in August and finished in the top seven on his team last weekend. This is a good sign since they take the top seven to the finals. But he isn't getting his hopes up too much yet. My sense is that he has improved in technique, and I know his times have improved.

Cross country is really tough. Several of Patrick's teammates are injured now because the training is intense and exhausting. Patrick is struggling with shin splints. Ouch! I remember that pain vividly from high school track.

They run in whatever conditions there are: high heat and humidity, soaking wet, cold and windy. Whatever the weather, short of a typhoon, they run. He came home with soaking wet shoes and socks this weekend. Two days later, the shoes are still drying out--even after a day in direct sunlight on our driveway and a night directly under the a/c blower in the family room. They'll be dry in time for practice this afternoon, though, even if I have to put them in the dryer.


Patrick mid-race at Tama Hills 9/22/07

One note about small world experiences: Last weekend at Tama Hills (Tokyo area), John noticed a familiar face in the crowd of varsity boy runners. It was a boy whom we had known in Yakima. He and his family moved to Germany while we were still in the U.S. and now they are living in Tokyo. He was a runner in Yakima, too, so a cross country meet was a logical place to run across him, but funny that it was a cross country meet in Japan.

This coming weekend cross country has their home meet. Hooray! I am looking forward to seeing Patrick run in a race. Hopefully, we'll get more pictures, too.