She Loves to Run!

Little Girl's preferred method of getting from point A to point B is running. In fact, since she's been home from Ethiopia these past 12 months, it's definitely been a recurring source of conflict between us, because she just can't always run. 

But, I have to say:  Little Girl IS FAST!  

She runs like the wind and she's only 4!

We go to pick up my big kids at elementary school and Little Girl begs me to let her do a lap around the track.  She finishes the lap and is not even breathing hard, begs me to let her "Do it again!"

She doesn't yet have the stamina to keep up with me for the entire 3 miles I typically do on my runs, but she does get out of the jogging stroller and run for parts.  These pictures are from last Friday's run:

Look at that stride!

She needed a rest, so as we slowed to walk a bit, she said, "I LOVE to run!"

The way she said it, the wistfulness to her little voice, made the fact that I wasn't really getting a work-out with all the starting and stopping of running with a 4 year old, totally worth it!

Sunday morning was Marathon Sunday in our city.  I ran the marathon 11 years ago (before any of my 4 children existed), but this past Sunday instead of tackling the 26.2 miles, I sat on the couch next to Little Girl before church and we cheered on the Ethiopian runners on TV as they won 1st in the men's marathon (with $40,000 prize money, no less), 1st in the women's marathon (also with a $40,000 prize), 1st in the women's half-marathon, and pretty much swept the 2nd through 5th places of every race.  It was a great day for Ethiopia right here in Houston, Texas!

The news interviewed the Ethiopian 19 year old who won the women's marathon, and she said (through a translator), "I love to run and this is just doing what I love."

I have no idea what will become of our Little Ethiopian Runner and if she'll always love it and want to do her own marathons one day.  I do know it's in her blood, it's in her DNA.  Olympics 2028?  I have no expectations except that if she's going to do it, I hope she'll still be sporting the pink running shoes and tutu skirt!


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