Spring is for Track

Spring has a way of filling up the calendar before you quite realize it. And this year, it's all track. 

My boys. Both runners. Both freshmen. Different seasons. 

Grant's season was a slow build from recovery. The end of the indoor season had him sidelined, managing a knee that wouldn't cooperate-- swelling, questions, and more rest than he wanted. For someone as competitive as Grant is, that's its own kind of challenge. But somewhere in that pause, he got curious. He realized he needed to adjust his run form to avoid knee problems. He started studying his gait, making small adjustments, repeated trips to the PT, paying attention to the slightest details. 

And when outdoor season ramped up, so did his return. Not tentative, but ready. He's been back on his feet, back in races, and putting together a really strong freshman season. There is something satisfying about watching hard-earned comebacks, especially the kind built on patience and self-awareness that Grant has shown. 

One of the clearest markers of that growth came at the Carolina Distance Festival. Last year, as an 8th grader running unattached, he lined up (for the first time, at a big meet like this), and ran a 5:05.98 in the 1600. This year, he came back and ran a 4:36.18 (converted from his 4:37.82 mile). 

That's nearly 30 seconds faster in a year. Same meet. Same distance. More experienced runner.

TJ's season has looked different. Less about PRs, more about figuring things out. His point of contention has been the 800- two laps that demand just the right mix of restraint and risk-- but that elusive sub-2:00 barrier has been just that. . . elusive. 

2:01.49, 2:00.67. . again and again. Close enough to taste, not quite close enough to claim. To me, it feels mental now, that last thin line between where he is and where he knows he can be. 

But instead of staying stuck there, he's done something I admire, he's expanded. Stepped into something new. 

The Steeplechase. 

3000 meters.

28 barriers.

7 water jumps. 

It's part race, part Cross Country on a track. Rhythm matters. So does courage. Fixed barriers don't move like hurdles-- they ask more of you. The water jump adds a layer of complication (and let's be honest, a little fun). And somehow, in between all of that, you still have to run far. . . and fast. 

It's one thing to describe it, and another to see it. Rich captured TJ's first Steeplechase on video, and it tells the story better than I can. (Good job, honey)!

It's an event TJ has always been curious about, and this season he had the opportunity to go for it. To learn something new. To be bad at first, but to gradually improve. There is a quiet bravery in that as a college athlete. He's raced the event once already and will line up again this weekend at conference-- each time getting a little more comfortable with the rhythm, the spacing, the feel of it all. 

And then there are the weekends. 

Long days at meets. Deciding which meet to go to and when. Learning the cadence of each environment, each new team, each set of parents in the stands. I've found myself working hard to build a new community-- track moms (and dads) in folding chairs, trading schedules, cheering for kids who aren't our own-- and meaning it, and slowly becoming familiar faces to each other. Working hard to find my footing again after TJ graduated from Willow Spring and Grant stepped into a new school. We're getting there.

It's been busy. Full. Sometimes a little chaotic. 

But mostly, it's been really, really good. 

Spring is for track. 

For comebacks and breakthroughs.

For near misses and new risks. 

For finding your stride, both on the track and alongside it. 

And for now, I wouldn't trade these weekends for anything.