The Burggraaf Blog: First Race of the Season

Well, it's race season again. Zach ran in his first race Saturday, the same race that was his first ever race last year. He was excited going in, and I think Drew was, too. Thankfully this year the weather was much warmer than last year, so we didn't mind getting to the race site a little early. Finally they said it was time for the Little Lakers race to begin, so the boys and I headed to the start line while Mike went and got into a prime photo-taking position.

They had the kids separated by age groups- 6 and under, 7-8 years, and 9+ years, so Zach was in the first group. We were at the end of the group walking to the starting line, so Zach got a good spot right in the front of the starting blocks. About 10 seconds after he got there, the guy said go, and Zach seemed to be the first person for whom the word registered, and he was off!

Now, it could have been Zach's lightning-fast reflexes out of the starting blocks, or his prime front-row position, or maybe even the fact that in the 6 and under age group, there were not more than a few kids Zach's size or bigger, but either way, he started fast and kept a huge lead the whole 100 yards.

If you asked Zach, he'd tell you that what really helped him win was squinting his eyes (which, thankfully we can see since Mike made him take off his sunglasses for picture purposes). He told Mike after the game that the eye-squinting helps him run faster. The eye-squinting seems to go hand-in-hand with his mean face that he uses in football, basketball, and soccer.

At least he smiled as he got closer to Mike and the finish line. Sorry for the darkness of the pictures- the sun was right behind Zach.

After Zach and a bunch of kids finished the race, Drew decided he wanted to run, too. We put him down and he ran across the finish line, through the roped-off finishing area, and on down the path. He just kept on running, enjoying every minute of it. Seems like we might have a couple of racers on our hands, which isn't surprising, since the two boys run laps around the house all the time.

We went straight from the race to my soccer game. True to being a second child, Drew is already showing skill in things that Zach probably didn't at age two, just because Drew is more exposed by having a big brother than Zach was. So, here's Drew showing his ball-handling skills with his little soccer ball.

This was my first outdoor game since the fall, and I was a little nervous. First of all, the fields we play on on Saturdays are terrible- incredibly lumpy, hilly, etc. This particular field today had a manhole cover right smack in the middle of it and was practically as long as it was wide. Since I sprained my ankle playing indoor soccer on March 1, I was feeling nervous about the lumpy field and the contact with other players. This is co-ed soccer, so each team has to have at least 4 females playing at all times, which generally means there will only be 4 females per team at all times, unless we are short guys. Some of the guys on our team are very serious about their soccer, and they're young and single and somewhat prima-donna-ish, and that all makes me feel insecure and nervous, too. There are only a couple of people on the team that have been on it since its formation about 3 years ago, and I am one of them. The team has definitely gotten more skilled and more competitive players, and while I'm a competitive person, I just know that this is "Over the Hill" soccer, so it's not that big of a deal. Anyway, I didn't have any major screw-ups and my ankle survived, and we won 2-0, so I guess it was a successful first game of the season!

Mike had the camera since we'd been at Zach's race, and I told him he really didn't need to take pictures of the game, but he wanted to. I was embarrassed, but I hope nobody noticed. He never actually got any shots of me near the ball, which is kind of funny. It's funny to me, actually, that he took pictures when the ball wasn't near me. There I am, #15 in white.

The boys were excited to go to Mom's soccer game, though you'd never know it from this picture. I guess the game itself just didn't live up to their expectations.

Later in the day we just played and rested, and Drew and Mike enjoyed a good book on the couch before Mike went out to the driving range to hit balls.