Running to the beat of her own drum

On Saturday, I had to set my alarm to go off before the 7:00 hour. I wasn't all that happy with such a notion, but I knew it was for a good cause. Jocie had decided to run in a 2 mile race with her friend Amanda to help raise money for our church's Fall Festival. I can't remember being all that lazy of a kid (mom and dad - you might disagree), but I know that I didn't ever get up early on a Saturday morning to run 2 miles when I was eleven!

It was an awesome autumn morning with more sun than clouds and a cool crisp in the air.

Jocie told me that she likes running, but she doesn't like right before the race starts because she gets pretty nervous. I think you can see that written on her face! I even caught her cracking her knuckles . . . this is one of Jocie's dead give-a-ways of either being nervous or lying . . .

And their off!

The girls make a nice, confident start.

After seeing the girls off, I raced over to the Middle School so I could see them in action. The guy leading the pack is a friend of mine. Schmitty used to be one of our school social workers and the founder of the Pinewood (Staff) Running Club. He is a fantastic runner and an even better person. When ever I see him, he always greets me with, "Hey! Double A!" as he runs/skips/hops/schuffles by. I am pretty sure he is referring to my initials . . . but he could also be referring to something else . . . nah. He's not like that :)

The girls don't look too nervous here!

They both sprint through the finish! Gotta love the competitiveness!

Nice work girls! I can't wait until I get to rejoin the running world. Who knows, maybe I will be sprinting next to them at St. Henry's Fall Festival 2011.