Going to State

Yesterday, JP learned that he will be running for MBA's varsity track team in the 4 x 800 at the State Championship Track Meet next week in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.  He was excited to get the news because although he was on the 4 x 800 team that qualified for the State Championships, there was a chance he would be replaced with an older, more experienced runner.  Objectively, he's one of the four fastest 800 runners of the group, I think, so I'm happy he was selected.

This abbreviated track season has been interesting for JP.  In the City Championships for freshman, he easily won the 800 and 1600.  It was different, though, when he ran the 800 in the last varsity track meet of the season.  He finished a few seconds behind the older runners.  

Last Friday, at the Regional Championships at MBA, JP ran the anchor leg of the 4 x 800.  He ran a PR at 2:01 and change but Ryder, a Father Ryan runner, pulled away from him on the last lap.  JP was angry and disappointed, of course, because he's JP and is competitive fire burns hot at all times.  As I reminded him after the race, though, Ryder didn't any curve balls this spring.  He was running track the entire time.

And that's the point, I think, and what makes JP's performance on the track all the more intriguing.  He practiced and played baseball for the junior varsity team all spring, then joined the track team as soon as the baseball season ended.  Sure, he'd been running on his own but he hadn't done any track workouts at all.  Moreover, he has absolutely no experience racing the 800 or the 1600 on the track.  He doesn't know strategy, race plans, etc.  And, still, his 800 time keeps dropping.  2:07, 2:03, 2:01.  

I can't help but wonder what kind of times JP would run if he ran track all spring.  I'm pretty confident he could get under 2:00 in the 800, probably down to 1:55.  That's really fast for a boy his age but who knows, really?  I love watching him run, though, in cross country or track.  I also love watching him play baseball.  

For a father, having the opportunity to watch your sons compete - really compete - at anything is special and a gift.  Always.  It's also fleeting, so I don't take it for granted.  Not a bit.

So, I'll juggle my schedule and be in Murfreesboro next Wednesday to watch JP run the 4 x 800 in the State Championships, cheering all the way.  

It's a good life, isn't it?