Ditch The City

Not quite the fun it was last year, unfortunately...

Eli seemed to be excited for this race; he was to run the kids' version of the trail race with obstacles that I signed up for. And Maddux was excited to come cheer us along, for the last time (next year she'll be old enough to participate). Eli talked about the race, excitedly, last night, and he seemed eager in the car on the way over. Once we arrived and got our numbers, he was even leading the stretches and warm-up runs for the family. He still wanted me to run with him (when the kids ran), but he in no way appeared to not look forward to the race. We started and he ran pretty well, moving to the back of the pack early. We were still holding our own though, running and going through pipes and over hay barrels. When we got to the other side of the lake, however, he wasn't as excited. The kids had to walk/run through the water just on the shore of the lake, and then walk through inner tubes in the water. I'm sure it was fear, but Eli turned very sour and angry. I tried to help by letting him know that he would be better off putting his feet in the water (inside of the tubes) because he would most likely slip if he stepped on the tube (and avoided the water). It didn't help: Eli tried to step on a tube and ended up sitting inside of one, getting a little wet and muddy. That was it - he was done.

Eli's been struggling with anger and 'fits' lately, and they are way worse when he's tired. Add to that his fatigue factor for the last week (probably still fighting off whatever virus had him on Sunday and Monday), and this morning's mood should have been expected. He didn't really finish the race because he cried a bit and whined a lot the rest of the course. Maddux was a rockstar and ran the rest of the way back with me; she will own that course next year. (On a sidenote: I LOVED the course this year and had my best race in recent memory. It felt good and I was rewarded with a 3rd Place in age-group finish.)

Eli turned it around and was pleasant during and after my race, and he fell asleep almost instantly when we got back into the car (around 11AM). The kid has some serious growing pain stuff going on!