It was a crazy weekend for Team Dietrich.
Sierra had a cross country meet in Beulah, ND. Jamison had one in Wilmar, MN. It was also Sierra's last weekend to deer hunt with her youth tag. Sooooo, in order to do it all, Chad and I had to divide and conquer! Chad stayed with Sierra. He watched her race and took her hunting. The rest of the kids and I drove to Wilmar to watch Jamison run.
Sierra raced at 10:30 am. The kids and I were eating breakfast at Perkins in Alexandria, MN while she raced. Chad totally understands how much I hate being away from one of the kids, so he showered me with videos and photos during the race. Plus, his mom went with him, so I was able to steal the above photos off of her FB. I am a spoiled (and thankful) momma!
Though it was her best finish of the season (at 18th), she says it was her worst race. She has been nursing a sore hamstring since mid-summer. She overstretched it, and it has been tender ever since. Until this week, it was not bothering her when she ran, it was just really tight and inflexible when she worked on cheer kicks. This week, after a fast and hilly practice, it was giving her fits. She iced it and babied it along -but racing on a hilly course was WAY painful. She was in tears by the end of the race. (Wimpy momma that I am, i was sniffling reading her texts as we neared her big brother's race. Being there would have done NO good - but sometimes hugging my girl makes me feel better! I do not handle my children's physical pain well at all!)
Today she is feeling better - but running is not an option. It is way too sore.
So - tomorrow I will call Charity, our favorite PT, and see what she has to say. There are only three races left this season, so I am praying Sierra can keep running. She will be so sad if she can not.
The rest of Team Dietrich was with me. Krissy changed her work schedule at the last minute so she could help me drive. I am SO thankful! It was wonderful to have a second driver! Plus time stuck in the car gabbing with my oldest was wonderful. I LOVE time with my daughter!
Brenna and Joshua did not want to come with me - so I bribed them with a hotel pool!
We drove 600 miles to watch this weekend's race (300 miles each way), but to my little water bugs, the hotel pool AND Krissy's IPad and Laptop made it all worthwhile!
The drive was lovely, thanks to all the fall foliage, and the golf course they held the race at was beautiful.
It was the first out of state race our kids have been involved in, and it was a really fun adventure!
Rather than bringing the whole team, CHS brought 12 girls and 12 boys.
The girls all raced varsity.
The boys coach chose to split his team and run 8 boys varsity and 5 JV.
The CHS girls have a fantastic team.
It was exciting to watch them run toward another team victory yesterday!
The top 7 CHS boys ran next.
CHS has a very young and highly talented team. They have NO seniors, but the juniors and sophomores are working their butts off and improving each week. It is a BLAST to watch them improve meet to meet!
It was especially fun to watch them run with a whole new set of competitors.
I had no idea how they would stack up, and I was totally proud of their showing!
It was a brutally hilly course.
It was also a well designed course for spectators! We were able to see the racers at MANY points in the race. I love it when that happens!
Jamison and a teammate ran side by side the entire race.
Because of a HUGE hill, I could not see the finish - but in the end Jay was a few strides ahead of his buddy, I am told.
The CHS boys had a wonderful meet!
The varsity boys places second, missing out on 1st by only three points, and all 8 boys placed in the top 25!
Their JV boys took the first 5 placings in the JV race! It was really exciting to watch the CHS pack run together for a united victory! While CHS lacks a "bullet" (a super fast, race winning contender), the team has incredible depth. It is hard to win meets without a bullet, but thanks to their great depth, they are making a name for themselves all the same.
Jay, personally, had a good meet. It was not his best meet of the season - but he ran well. He tackled a challenging course and new surroundings with courage.
600 miles in a day and a half is A LOT of driving - but I am SO glad we were able to be there!
While I do not want to be a hover-mother, I do want my kids to know I will cancel any meeting, give up a bit of sleep, and tolerate some sibling whining to be front and center of as many activities as I possibly can. As I always remind the kids, in our family, we stick together. We cheer loud and support each other in every way that we can. . . always!
Even when we have to divide to conquer!
