Days with the Dorans

 Joey's Cross-Country Banquet fell on the same day as Z's first band concert. Since we knew there would be more concerts, Jeff and I went with Joe. The banquet was at a local golf course and the food was really good. This was our first "Banquet" for high school and it was really nice. Joe sat with friends and we sat with parents who were very nice. When the coach started talking about the JV runners, I went to the back of the room to film but he never called Joey! Jeff and I looked at each other unsure if he forgot or if Joey actually earned his letter! Not only did he earn his letter he was the third fastest freshman (Number 1 and 2 were our fastest runners on the team!). They'll be really good if they keep getting stronger! Joey also got the most improved runner. It was awarded to two runners. The boy on the right took SEVEN MINUTES off his time which is amazing but the coach said it's harder to peal off time when you're faster and Joe ended ...

 Can't begin to say how proud I am of this kid! He has never been that excited about cross country and usually after his races he complains that he hates running... but today something happened. Joe said he felt great and loved it~ and I'm talking IMMEDIATELY after he was done (he usually is OK with it after we get home). His school took the top 7 kids on the "Varsity Team" to run the Varsity race and then everyone else ran a later race. Well, Joe was in the top 5 for the race, second for his school (right behind the kid) and ran faster than two of the boys from his school that ran the Varsity Race! He said he can't wait for his next meet. I forgot to check to see if he had a fever... Regardless. So proud of this kid! Great time!!

 Joe's Cross Country season started in September but since I'm catching up and back-dating everything, I figured I'd go ahead and write about it now. Joe ran with his friends Connor and Dom and had practice EVERY day- which he hated! He complained a lot and just wanted to run the races without all the training. I'm happy to say that I think Joe realized that the training paid off.  My dad, being a runner, was excited about Joe running again. Joe always had negative splits but started off slow (for him). He started at "Beat the Hill" whose name says it all. His first time for the 2.2 miles was 19:48. At that point I was just proud he finished and didn't puke (like a lot of the other boys I saw crossing the finish lines). Joe ran with 7th and 8th graders and his team was FAST. The were the champs and in the city meet they had the 8 fastest runners in the top ten and then like 11 and 12.  Joe came in 35th in that meet which is really respectable e...

So Joey didn't think he wanted to run Cross Country this year but I took my brother's advice, "Why would you give him the choice, he's a great runner and will make new friends and have a good time."  Well... I am happy to say that my brother was right and we DID take his advice! Joe is a natural runner. We learned this back that day at the ball fields when he started running around the fields to play the iPhone.  He kept running and just didn't stop.  He's done two races (without training) and did great so we were excited to see what this season would hold. Joe's ran his first one mile race in 7:21 and he finished the season running miles under 7 minutes which was very impressive (especially because that first course was flat and they got hillier). Joe had practice twice a week and thankfully his friend Dom's mom (who I went to high school with) was able to bring Joey home after each practice.  What a huge help she was.  Joe loved th...