Phoebe participated in the spring session of Girls On The Run at her elementary school.
Above, her school's GOTR team. Phoebe is standing on the right, second on in, wearing a blue-flowered shirt. They had practices after school twice a week for an hour and a half.
At their practices they did some team building and motivation exercises together. They also ran, a lot.
They did a school fundraiser that was very successful! They sold Easter Eggs with prizes inside and doughnuts.
On April 23rd all of the girls and their running buddies had to run a practice 5k. I wasn't worried about Phoebe running this. I knew she was ready. I on the other hand am very out of shape and was worried I may hold her back some. I told her ahead of time to take off and I would run with her. Well, she listened and took off and it was hard for me to catch her! Finally about 3/4 of the way through the 5k I caught up to her and one of her friends.
At that point in the race they just needed a little encouragement to keep going strong and then Phoebe took off and left me in the dust. Her goals were to run under 30 minutes and to beat a couple of her friends. She achieved both of her goals.
She ran her 5k in 29 minutes and beat her friend by using her strong legs and power to kick it in the last 1/4 of a mile.
Silas and Sarah were there to cheer us on at the beginning and the end. Silas also got to help hold the ribbon at the end for all the girls to run through.
The morning of our real race, May 11th, was chilly and a bit rainy. We met about one thousand other runners downtown that morning for some pre-race festivities.
Above, left to right, Phoebe, Reese, Lila, the Showman, Addison, Raina, and Haylee.
Before the race we ran into my cousin's daughter Hayley, who was there to run with her mom, (Phoebe and Hayley below on left). Below, on right, Phoebe and I before the race.
The girls and moms had a little fun in the photo booth before the race.
Below, our GOTR team and their coaches.
Below, the team with their running buddies.
The beginning of the race was a MESS! So many girls and their running buddies lined up to start, and some who weren't going to run, but walk..... There seems to me there should be a better way to line-up for the beginning of this race. Phoebe and I had a tough start picking our way around LOTS of people who started walking almost immediately, or who just intended to run a bit then walk a bit for the whole race. Finally as we got around the majority of these people and it started to thin out around us, I could talk to her and two other girls from our team and encourage them to keep going, establish a pace, work together, and breathe. Phoebe fell about 10 feet our so behind me and as we rounded the corner at the half-way point I came across one of the coaches who asked me if I might be able to catch one of our other team members who was a ways in front of us.... I wasn't sure if I could or not, but thought I could give it a try, if she would continue to encourage and push Phoebe and the girls I was with.
As I rounded the last corner to run across the bridge into the finish line, I was greeted by LOTS of cheering family members and friends. (Eric told me later it appeared I had left my running buddy behind. I told him what had happened after the mid-way point and assured him I had NOT left our daughter behind, but I was very aware that this was what it looked like and I felt bad that this had happened.) Phoebe wasn't too far behind me though and when Eric spotted her rounding the corner to cross the bridge he told me he yelled out, "Phoebe, GO CATCH MOMMY!" And, she took off like a shot! Later after the race she told me when she started to speed up and sprint across the bridge into the finish line that her legs felt like "Helicopters".
She ran an amazing race! Our times were, Stacee 28:00 and Phoebe 28:20. This was a PR (personal record) for her. She reached both her goals again for this race (beating friends and running under 30 minutes) and improved her time. My Mommy heart was so happy for her! Maybe she has some more 5k's in her future and possibly cross-country.... WAY to RUN PHOEBE!!!!
Phoebe really enjoyed participating in the GOTR program this spring and hopes to be able to participate in it again next year.
