They Said She Would NEVER Run!

Before I even start, I must note that I cannot do this post justice.  There are only two people in this world that understand what was accomplished. . . Adeline's parents.  Regardless, I am going try.

A month or so ago, a friend clued me into a running series for kids.  Basically, all three girls will run an appropriate distance based on age for five weeks in a row.  I thought it would be a great way to spend Sunday evenings together.  It would also give each girl an opportunity to meet a challenge head on.  I didn't really think about how far the girls were expected to run or how hard the challenge just might be.

The little girls were expected to run a quarter mile in a group of Kindergarten and first grade girls.  This put them, more than likely, the youngest girls in the bunch.  Savannah, was right in the middle for age of her second and third grade group.  She was expected to run a half mile.

As noted earlier, Savannah has been training (I use that word loosely) for this run and had set a goal of running her half mile under four minutes.  Once we saw that the course was on bumpy grass, up a large hill and likely to bottleneck in a few areas, I tried to lower her expectation.

I was pretty nervous about the twins completing the run.  The first half of the run was up a very large and drawn out hill.  I knew Lila could do it but WOULD she?  That is always the question.  I tried to gear her up and prepare her for feeling tired and still pushing toward the finish line.  Adeline, well that was a different story.  I wasn't sure I should even have her try it.  What if she started crying half way through the run?  What if she recognized that she is the slowest runner?


We decided to meet the runs head on and the girls were soon split up into groups and stretching.  Oh so cute!  The twins' group ended with all hands in the middle and yelling out some sort of cheer.  Lila was very sweet in making sure Adeline's arm was pulled into the group.  They were stuck together like glue in this unfamiliar situation. 

The girls made their way to the start line with Alex while I found my view of the finish line. Soon they were off. I was thrilled to see Lila sticking with the crowd but was immediately nervous when watching Miss Adeline. She fell way back quickly and I was worried she was frustrated. Boy did she surprise me. As hard as it was for her to move those legs, manage adequate breath support and run in the back all by herself, she kept moving. Here is a clip of the start. My little Belle looks lost but notice she doesn't stop those feet.


Daddy decided to jump in a be her running partner. Up the steep hill she climbed, huffing and puffing! Alex was worried she wouldn't make it as her breathing was VERY labored. Adeline kept telling Alex that she was tired but she never stopped.

Half way through her run I was over come with emotion. This little one pound baby was shuffling her way to the finish. She was working at least twice as hard as every kid out there but she was going to finish. After every kid had crossed the finish and the volunteers were making their way over to the next heat, I called out, "You have another runner out there." Everyone stayed put and watched my little girl fight for the finish.  Even the race coordinator was down on one knee to meet her at the finish.  As tears streamed down my face, my Adeline did that which all the docs in the NICU said she would never do. She did what she does best.  She persevered.  She ran a race!!


Alex had to push her to the finish tape because she wasn't sure where to stop but other than that he never touched her along the way.

In the context of her prematurity, my baby girl moved mountains and I am ecstatic. I had no idea how emotional the run would be for me. She did that which no one thought she would ever do!  She was proud and in that moment, I wished she could understand just what her accomplishment was.

I should also note that there is a flip side. To some degree the doctors are right. When you watch Adeline try to run, it is clear she just can't like the rest. It isn't a leg thing but an oxygen thing. I don't quite get the science behind it but she doesn't move the air through her lungs in a capacity that fuels her body. While I was crying tears of joy I was also saddened by another mark of her prematurity. While Adeline will never run long races, today, she ran the race of a lifetime! It was absolutely inspiring.

Miss Adeline wasn't the only one to knock socks off today.  Lila finished nicely and definitely left some in the tank as she was smiling/posing when running past me. Too bad the picture is blurry. This is not to say that she didn't dig in and push herself. The first thing she told me, after noting that she got an apple as a prize, was, "Even though my legs were tired, I kept running!" I was so happy to see her run hard.  I almost expected her to be the girl in pink behind her in the picture below. 

After the girls ran, Savannah was up. My big girls was nervous. The horn blew and Savannah was all business. We lost sight of them for awhile and when she reemerged, she was fighting for second place. I was blown away. Alex met her at one turn and called out her time. She was tired and out of gas. There was an obvious digging deep that transpired and the girl kept going hard. Savannah and two other girls were fighting for second, third and fourth. Savannah almost clinched third but came in fourth place (out of about 20 runners) with a time of 3:52!! Her Daddy and I are still stunned. My girl left all she had out on the field and blew past her expectations.

Our family of five walked away very proud!