Today is usually when I write about the zen of trail running. The first Saturday in December is the traditional day for the 50K trail run through Huntsville State Park. I have completed the 31-miles along the trails on six previous occasions.
This past Saturday presented a slight conflict, however. Race day coincided with my oldest daughter's birthday and with the first 5K she's run solo. She has run three 5Ks previously - two with her mother and one with her aunt.
This semester she decided to join a group at her school called Girls on the Run. Once a week she'd stay late after school, go to a study-hall type class and then go running with her teammates. The program culminated in a 5K run at Bear Creek Park.
I asked my daughter whether she's rather I run in Huntsville or stay in town to watch her. She decided she wanted her daddy to be at her race. So, I scratched my trail run off the calendar (adding the Galveston marathon in its place) and watched her cover the 3.1 miles in under 42 minutes.
She was hot. She was tired. But she was determined to finish and she sprinted out the last quarter-mile. I was so proud of what she'd done.
And, being that it was unseasonably warm, okay, hot, hitting a record high in Houston, I was quite glad I wasn't out on the trails.
All in all, I think everything worked out just fine.
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