My little brother Kennan had a track meet at Sky View HS on Saturday, so I was able to go over and watch him run 6 total laps around the track. Super fun, right? Kidding, it really was. I know that the thought of watching people run around a track doesn't appeal to everyone, and I'll admit, sometimes I get bored of it, but when I have people I know to actually watch, I love it. Plus being there and around fellow Cokeville people brings back so many memories of my years running track.
(BYU track meet my senior year - 2004)
It's really quite funny to think back on track. I ran four years of long distance, and man, I wish I had an idea of how many miles that accrued to over the years, how many 1600, 3200, and 4x800 races I ran. Needless to say, I was in great shape. It was really quite interesting too how things changed from my freshman to my sophomore years as far as training. I don't know if Coach Teichert just saw something in our group of distance runners, or if he just wanted to be mean and make us run a whole lot (kidding Coach, I know it wasn't that!) but training definitely got harder, and more intense. Beginning with hills, aka "Hells" followed by 80's. The nice thing was we had a pretty set schedule, so we knew which days to really dread vs just kind of dread, but we all really dreaded Hells days.
(The Seniors at State Track - 2004)
But, the funny thing about it, we also had a lot of fun during these trainings. All three of those years, we trained with the boys DC (distance crew), and we had such a great time. The boys would run the hells, then the girls would, with the boys either making fun of us, or cheering us on, then we'd do the same for the boys. We really developed quite the camaraderie, especially when it came to the short/middle distance groups. We knew that we worked the hardest, and we were the best. Plus, I really think we were Coach's favorites. That's always fun.
(The original DC crew, 2003)
I could go on and on about all the memories I have from track. As much as I loved volleyball and basketball, I think I had the most fun during track season, even though it was also the hardest, and I complained the most during track season. As a DC, we did a lot of fun things, and had some really funny things happen, like Scott Dayton getting caught in the mud, Jessie Bennion and I jumping in the river on one of our Smith's Fork runs, Brady and his Speed Demon glasses, and his Harry Potter kick (complete with a massive stick/branch as his wand), early morning runs (which looking back I wish I had done better at), Hills, 80's, jumping off the waterfall, playing "turtle" and "whispers don't make friends", cheering each other on at races, being jealous of a certain someone for being the best at everything, making a best friend I never would have thought I would have, making fun of each other's running forms, trying to all fit into Coach Teichert's van after sprinting down a dirt road, making fun of the short/mid crews for complaining so much when they had to do a workout once every few weeks that we did on a daily basis, and our favorite QER's. I could seriously go on, but since this post isn't about that, I'll move one.
(Jumping/being pushed off the waterfall up Pine Creek after one of our runs - 2004)
I'll probably say this everytime I post about my little brother, but I still can't believe how 'big' he is. It seriously blows my mind a bit. I got to the track litterally as the gun went off for his first event, the 1600 aka mile (my favorite and best race, back in the day ;). As I watched him run I thought, "Man, he's got some muscles." Like seriously, when did that happen? He did such a great job though, I was mighty proud of him. I love that he runs the same races that Brady and I did, so we can sympathize with one another, and be super excited and proud with knowing what he's accomplished
It was also fun to be able to sit with my parents and watch some of the other events. I can't help but laugh a little watching track, kind of like a, "Haha, you have to run track," kind of laugh. But it was great being out in the sun watching people run in circles.
I got to hang out with these cool people. It was super fun.
They look totally stylish, huh?
One of my favorite parts was when I saw my Coach. Growing up in a small town, the coaches have coached there forever, and they will always be known as Coach, no matter how old you get. He called me over and gave me a hug, and then said some things to me that kind of made me tear up. He mentioned how he enjoyed coaching me back in the day (holy cow it's been 10 years!), and a few other things that just really made my day. I love Coach Teichert. Yes, I got angry with him quite often, and he yelled at me quite a bit more, but I respected him so much. He just wanted us to be our best, to work our hardest, and he wanted us to succeed. I still have a note from him from my junior year of track that I just treasure. One thing I thought was really cool watching this track meet was nearly all of the Cokeville runners were in last place (let's face it, we're a little slow compared to other states), but Coach didn't care. He gave the runners splits to reach, and he was so proud of them for getting them, even if they came in dead last. I really appreciate all that he taught me and for his continued support over the years. It's always good to see him.
Another person I got to see was Coach/Mr./Bishop Fiscus. I don't really know what to call him anymore. He was my Bishop when I was in High School, as well as being the dad of two of my very best friends. I love seeing him. He always gives me a hug and tells me I look good, even though I know he's lying. But he always asks how I'm doing, and I know he really cares. He was a great example and leader to me in High School, and I was grateful to have such an amazing and caring bishop. It was great seeing him as well.
And of course, the best part was seeing this cute guy. I love him so much, even though I still picture him as a little 5 year old. He's so handsome and talented, and is quite the athlete. He did such a great job, and even though he said he didn't run as hard as he could, he still did great, and I was proud of him.
After the track meet we went to Firehouse to eat. Kandyce was in town so she and Liam came over to hang out with us for a while. Liam is one cute dude. His laugh is the cutest, even though it drives me crazy that he won't come to me. He just hides behind his mom all the time.
Well, this post turned out to be a lot longer than I intended. It was a good weekend and it was good seeing family, friends, coaches, bishops, etc. Lots of great people in my life.
