Michael's Gift.....

I'm tellin' ya, this kid can RUN!!!

I've known it from the time he was two and I would spend my days chasing him around. Every season of soccer or football he played, we would always get comments about his speed and endurance. He's got a gift and I'm so happy that he's found a way to use it!

Michael joined Cross Country this year....actually on Thursday! He'd never run cross country or track before, but decided to give it a try. We took him out and bought him running shoes Thursday so he could make the practice that afternoon. When he came home we were all over him with questions...."Were you fast compared to the other kids?" "Did you like it?" "How far did you run?" We got a few grunts and I don't knows in response so we didn't push it.

His first meet was yesterday. A 2 mile course run with four other schools resulting in 60+ individuals. We took a general poll of where each of us thought Michael would place. David thought he'd come in 7th after seeing some of the other kids and hearing that one of the boys on his team went to Disney for Nationals. I said, "Top Five...no sweat!" Zach thought he'd be in the top 10. None of us really knew what to expect and we were just hoping he'd place high enough to validate the fact that we think he's got talent here!

The whistle blew and off they went.

The course took the boys down a slope where the spectators lost sight of them for 3 or 4 minutes. We waited to see the first boy's head emerge from the slope...then the second boy....then..... OH MY GOSH!!! There he is!! There's Michael!!!!! We were jumping up and down like maniacs!!

I was a little worried that all the excitement of his first race would cause him to wear himself out too early, but when he grinned and made a funny face at the camera, it was like he was saying, "Mom, I got this!"

He held on to third place all the way up until the final 20 feet of the race!!

We are SO proud of him and we are really excited to watch him improve. He came into this completely cold. No experience, no training, and no conditioning. It is going to be so fun to watch him shave those seconds off of his time and see what his personal best is!

Go, Michael, Go!!!!