A Follow Up To My 5K Post

I still have a ton to write about regarding November and December, but I am going to quickly address a comment that was posted on my 5K post. An anonymous person commented that maybe Briana's actions during her 5K were more about being a team player (keeping her coach company and helping her along) rather than her not trying her hardest. After I read the comment, I pondered it for a few minutes.

Because the comment peaked my interested, I decided to ask Briana (again) her reasoning for lagging behind during the race. This race happened over a month ago, and we are completely fine and past all of it now. But, I decided to casually bring it up to Bri. Bri explained to me that her actions didn't have anything to do with team work or helping her coach along. She is certainly a great team player when it comes to soccer, but in this case, it was a different reason.

Briana loves her running club coach. Loves, loves, loves her coach. She is a strong female athletic role model and I am blessed that Briana is able to look up to her. In B's first 5K last year, her coach ran for time and endurance (and a parent volunteered to stay at the back of the group). Her coach is quite fast, and Bri tried to keep up with her but could not. So this 5K, Briana found an opportunity to run with her coach because she loves her so much (because in a regular situation, her coach would have been running for time and not hanging back). Instead of sharing this wish with her dad and me, she just decided to do it on her own. So that day, we interpreted her actions as being overly social and "not trying her best." 

The running club kids train for a 5K for an entire semester (every Thursday after school). And that entire time, the coach is building the kids' endurance and drilling into them that they are in "a race with themselves and no one else." She wants them to run for time and endurance ~ concentrating on themselves. So when you finally get to race day, you hope all that training comes into play. When Briana decided to hang back with her coach instead of pushing herself, no one got the real outcome of all her training.

I do believe that I (and Doug too) may have been a bit too tough on her that day. She is only 9. At that time, Bri had been exhibiting some "tween" type behavior and this event added to all of that. But since then, we have talked it all out. Bri told me that since she has had the opportunity to run along side her coach, she is now able to focus on doing her personal best next time. 

Bri and I spend so much time together, I know her like a book. And because of this, I know when she's got a different agenda and is not giving it her all (which she has a history of doing ~ she's done it in soccer, school, and now running). I've always told her that I don't care if she comes in last or fails a test, as long as she tries her best and stays on task, I'll be proud. 

So that is the follow up. Yes, I was a bit disappointed in her, but overall, B knows that I think she is the best kid ever. Let's see what happens in the spring.