Jason's Home Turf

I've blogged about this before, but did you know that Jason ran track years ago? That he was so good, two of his records still stand at his high school? That he got a scholarship to run track at Fresno State? That he recently began training again to compete in track meets? I am so proud of Jason for how much dedication he has put forth into his running. Four times a week, he wakes up early to go run or go to the gym. Last year, he ran in several All-Comers Meets, and made it a goal this year to run in many more. His long-term goal is to run this July in the USATF Masters Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Sacramento. Yesterday, he competed in his first meet of the year- Los Gatos All-Comers Meet. These all-comers meets allow athletes who are beyond their college years to still compete competively. The ones at Los Gatos are also heavily attended by high school teams from the area, hoping to qualify for other meets around the state. Los Gatos happens to be Jason's alma mater, so it was familiar turf and he was able to see former coaches and teammates.
While we were waiting for Jason's race, I drove the kids to a nearby park called Oak Meadow. It was Jason's favorite park as a kid, and I could see why. Our kids had a blast- there was a plane and a train for them to climb on, slides, swings, a climbing wall, etc. It was much better to let them run around at this park than on the bleachers at the track. It had just rained and everything was wet, but with nowhere else to go, I had no choice but to let them play. We were able to eat lunch before heading back to the track.

I was worried that I would miss seeing Jason's race (has happened before!) because of the kids needing my attention, so right when Jason got into the blocks, I bribed them each with a small box of Smarties (Canadian M&Ms). It worked and I was able to watch Jason's race. The time finally came for his race- he ran in the 100m and placed 3rd in his heat with a time of 11:92 secs. He had to ease up partway through his race because of his hamstring tightening... yup, another injury to contend with! I am glad he improved his time from last year, but it's a bummer that his body isn't cooperating.

Here he is, icing his hamstrings. I know it's so disappointing for him, particularly since he's been training so hard!

After the meet, we had the chance to reconnect with Paul and Heather Slayton. We headed over to their home. Paul was Jason's best man in our wedding but over the years, with crazy busy lives and the distance, we lost contact with them. We had so much to catch up on- kids and parenting, jobs, marriage... LIFE! The kids played while we talked- it was wonderful to spend an evening with them. We are confident it won't be another 5 years until we see them again.