His Competitive Drive

Last Friday Little Man ran his first ever race with his best bud, Will.  Will has ran a race before, but this was Little Man's first.  It was special for me because just last year we stood on the side lines and cheered his daddy on to a personal racing best.  I'm thankful my friend Jackie invited us to run this with them.

{Jackie, Will, Little Man, and me before the race}

I wasn't really sure what to expect from Little Man during this race.  He has run a mile with me before, so I knew he would do just fine running the entire fun run.  What I wasn't prepared for was his internal drive to be a winner.  Holy Moly!  That kid only saw one thing.  He saw people in front of him and he wanted to beat them.  It got to the point where I was trying to slow him down.  I was beginning to worry that he was starting out too fast and wouldn't be able to run the whole race.  Uhhh, I was way wrong!  I underestimated his competitive drive.  He kept passing kids twice his age and adults.  So much for my little leisure run with my boy.  When it was time to cross the finish line, we were about 9 minutes in duration and only about 15-20 runners back.  We could see the kid who won.  That's how close he was to the winner.  I was one proud mom!  A great memory for me.  I loved seeing his drive.

Just like me, Steven underestimated Little Man too.  He decided he had enough time to pee and missed us coming through the gate.  I was bummed for that because I was counting on him taking our pic.  Thank goodness for friends who take one for you.  I cherish this photo!

As for the big man in my life, he did pretty well too.  He took 9th overall and 3rd in his age group crossing the finish line in 20:17.  A personal best for him.  Was he satisfied?  Nooooo.  He was mad that he didn't place first in his age group.  I can see where this is headed.  I've got two out of my three boys with unreal competitive drives.  Heaven help me if Chubby Cheekers turns out this way too. Aye, aye, aye!

I sure do love my boys!