The End

 Austin's XC banquet was Friday night.  It was a potluck, like they usually do. (Kade finally realized the track and XC banquets are actually potlucks and was shocked since all the cheer, orchestra, and marching band banquets were catered at some kind of hall. The runners are really casual, which I don't mind!)

It was fun to look back on the season at all the accomplishments, which I have posted here before. No surprise, but Austin won the "Most Outstanding" poster since he was consistently the #1 guy on our team. He was also the only one to win the "Sub 16" shirt, though there were a lot of guys who won "Sub 17" shirts and one who won a "Sub 18" shirt. Progress all around! And no surprise that his friend Jack will be the team captain next year, and his friend Sam won the "most improved" award. They're all such great kids!

Austin and Coach

The State Team (sweet story about two of the guys: one qualified, but ended up being sick, so another, who is the team captain this year and a senior, got to run in his place. It turned out to be the Captain's best race all season! And the one who qualified, his name is on the shirt, and he still got a patch. Everyone was happy!)

Best Friends and "Jovial Juniors"

The outstanding freshman and the outstanding overall. 

All the juniors!

The next day was Austin's final cross-country meet of the season, even though it wasn't connected with the school. The runners have the option of competing in the Meet of Champions, which is for individual runners, but their times can count towards their season. So if they get a PR, it will be recorded as such for that season. They also have a fun tradition for those who hit a time of 16:09 during the season can be drafted onto a team coached by some incredible coaches from the area. Austin and Jack were drafted onto different teams. Austin was on the Ann Arbor Running Company with mostly seniors. He was the 3rd guy drafted. The draft is a big deal with runners tuning in from all over the state. His coach specifically mentioned the first 3 runners on her team of 7. She just said that she'd been watching him all season and was excited to have him on the team, especially since he's in the same area as her (we're only 20 minutes from Ann Arbor). 

The posted list of the team. 

The other thing about this meet is that anyone can run in the "open" runs. So I registered Erik and myself. They had alternating races between the Elite teams (Austin was in 1 of the 2), the Elite Open races, which included all his other teammates, and then the open men's and women's. Erik was in the 1st of the men's with some former teammates of Austin's and a freshman from his team. I was the only female runner from our school, but it was fun and in between Austin's and Erik's races. 

Erik was the clothing collector for the Elite Open.

The race is held at Shepherd HS every year, 2 hours away. It's a gorgeous course with some pine trees, woodsy areas, and it is very flat, so many PRs are made there. 

Austin finally got another PR- 15:39, by 1 second! He was the 3rd on his team to come in and his team won! He was only 1 slot away from winning a medal in the top 30, which he says he didn't know they were giving out medals. He assures me that he wouldn't have let the guy pass him at the end if he knew. But I think his PR and a winning team are pretty awesome! I ran pretty well myself with those young girls, considering I make better time on a 10k. I ran it in 23:28. Coach gave me some good advice of breathing more since I looked tight-lipped, which I was happy to have since I've never run with a coach before! Though I do think I wasn't very loose this race because I had a bit of a side ache coming on, and I know that too much oxygen breathed in can cause that, so then I stopped breathing in too much and then ended up not getting enough in. I had a headache to prove it, too! Finally, Erik got a PR of 19:51 and looked great for his first competitive 5k (middle schoolers run only 2 miles), especially since he hasn't run, besides soccer, since his XC season ended 3 weeks ago. 

Warming up and focused. 

In the race!

I look much slower!

My pace, while still below an 8-minute mile, looks very slow to me now!

Erik looks pretty good!

After Austin's race, before mine. 

After Erik's race. I had finished only 25 minutes earlier. 

The Open Men's runners. 3 Seniors, 1 Freshman, and 1 8th grader. 

Austin was the shortest on his MITCA team, whereas with his school team, they're all close to the same height. 

He got to hold the team trophy. 

They got shirts and a plaque, too. 

Austin and Jack with their team bibs of the day. 

It was an enjoyable, full day, and finished off with some great food at the Blue Shamrock. We drove Owen up and back, and his brother started the Blue Shamrock tradition when he first raced in MITCA a few years ago. We're happy to carry it on!

Last Weekend in October

 The last weekend in October means Halloween and the XC State Championship race. I don't know if it was like this everywhere, but here on Halloween, on a Friday night, I hear so many people say they hardly had any trick-or-treaters. Even the radio DJ I listen to said, as opposed to 27 last year, they got 8 this year. I expected there to be more since it was on a Friday. Also, the weather here was pretty decent. A little chilly, but no rain, so that's saying a lot!

It was a different Halloween for us since Kade is in college now and probably would have gone trick-or-treating if he weren't. So he went to a couple of parties with some of his high school friends. He said that there were many cops around patrolling, and they even shut down a few parties for being too loud. Kade assured me he knew to be extra on guard because there were so many cops out. One actually pulled him over, not for any driving mishaps, but because the party they were headed to had just been shut down, and the cop perceived they were headed that way. The cop was complimentary of their music and costumes, so he was pretty chill. I'm just glad to hear they were keeping extra sharp that night, especially after the terrorist threat that occurred in Dearborn, just 20 minutes from us!

Kade was Chicken Joe from Surf's Up!

Austin had States the next day, so he went to Sam's with Owen and Jack, all runners at States, and they handed out candy to the 4 or 5 kids who showed up there. Sam's mom said none of them ate a piece of candy! Way to stay healthy, runners!

Austin, on his way to Sam's, let me take a quick pic without his MF Doom mask on. 

We took Erik to trick-or-treat with friends. He had a blast and got way too much candy as everyone sensed the lack of candy collectors and dumped those who went with more. Since Jason and I went to the Kish's to have dinner and play cards, we left a basket of candy out with a sign. When we returned at 9, we still had half the basket left! Austin is happy and gladly claimed that for his own after the race.

Erik and his buds!

Jason and I had a blast with the Kishs and then got to visit with the Farnsworths, whose house Erik was at, on our way home. We didn't take hardly any pictures though, just had fun memories. 

Saturday's meet wasn't too early, so Austin got to sleep in. He and his teammates rode a bus to MIS (Michigan International Speedway). Jason volunteered to drive the truck with the team tent, which worked out so well. Sam's dad drove with him, which was equally good since he's very tall and much stronger than me. That tent needs height and muscles to get it up! I rode a little later with Sam's mom, and we all agreed that we're volunteering for the tent job next year! It's a very long walk to the field from the parking lot, so having our truck on the field as a place to sit for warmth, or to store stuff, was so nice!

The race itself was a big improvement for Austin from last year's State meet. It really helped having a team there to support each other. Their team got to start on the very end, the same side they were to turn for the first turn, which was a benefit to us. Austin was determined to not get in a bottleneck, so he went out really quickly. Unfortunately, it may have been a little too quick for him, especially because he was in such a good spot that he couldn't see just how fast he was going out. So his first mile wore him out a bit, then his second mile was much slower than it should have been. For his 3rd mile, he got back in his groove, and the last .1 he passed a bunch of guys, per his usual style. In the video of him at the finish, I was yelling so loudly because I knew that he low-key wanted to get top 30, which was very possible for him, and I also had been counting the guys coming before him, so I knew he would have to pass more than 10 guys right there. He did so well and passed a few at the very end, but I think he was a little disappointed that he didn't get in the top 30. He got a 15:50 again, which is still 10 seconds off his PR, and still incredible considering he did have the flu last week. He placed 40th out of 253, so I say it was an outstanding race! Also, Sam had jokily said that he didn't want to wait around for Austin to claim his medal, so no one had to wait. More than just Austin can win one next year! Our team placed 15th out of 27 teams. We were very pleased! The team went to Subway afterwards, and then upon returning and showering, Austin joined some of his besties from his team and other friends from other teams who were at States for more food at Chili's. One kid ordered 6 Dr. Peppers! He got 7th at States, so I guess that's his secret!

It was so hard to get good pics as Austin was surrounded all the time!

Here's his finish, passing some of these guys!

All these pics are actually taken from the videos at the end. Then you'll see him in real action!

Awesome team and coach!

Some of the other team members came to support!

That Time of Year

 Now that we are fully invested in the cross-country life, for now anyway, the meets and Halloween festivities intermingle. And both are almost over for this season!

As I mentioned two weeks ago, Kade has been a scare actor at a haunted house, which we went to see last weekend. I didn't take any pics of Austin, Erik, Jason, and me when we arrived since it was pretty dark. The Pumpkin Factory, where the haunted house is, is located in Belleville, about 30 minutes south of us, and is in the country. There are hardly any lights in the surrounding areas. There are all sorts of fall activities to do there in the day, but at night, it's just the haunted hayride, which only Austin and Erik did, and the haunted house, which is actually a bunch of trailers connected together. 

Scare Actor Kade!

Kade gave them a heads-up that we were coming, so they knew to look for his family, and they could give him a warning. The lady collecting the tickets said, "Some very special guests have arrived, including Valerie," in a spooky voice. Then we proceeded to go through. Luckily, Erik was in front, where all the jump scares are, so there was less screaming from me. I was in the back, also not a good place to be, but it was fine. Kade's friends were excellent in their roles, and Kade plays a very creepy clown. They had an awards ceremony last night, and Kade got a "pee award", meaning he made someone pee their pants from fear. He's very proud of it, and I'm just glad it wasn't me who peed my pants! (It does help when you know who's doing the scaring.)

They all got a "Freak Squad" patch, and to the right is Kade's pee award.

Last night was our ward's Halloween party. The Youth did a great job with the games and scavenger hunt they put on for the Primary kids. Pizza and pumpkin pie were served, which was a first and very welcome at this party. We always finish it off with a trunk or treat.

Lois Lane and Superman

Pedro and Napoleon 

So funny!!

A cow and "6  7".

The Youth participated in the parade with the Primary kids. 

The XC update this week was another sick and successful story. There was no school on Tuesday for a teacher development day (I think the main reason was for Diwali). Tuesday night, Austin wasn't feeling well. He said his "bones hurt". On Wednesday morning, he had a fever. Other symptoms were a sore throat and some congestion. He stayed home on W and Th, but his bones were feeling better Thursday night, and he no longer had a fever. So he went to school on Friday and got to participate in the pre-meet run. He still didn't feel 100%, but good enough. We did the usual treatments that we do to help when he gets sick, though he didn't ingest quite as much garlic as the last time because we were the host house for the XC team pre-meet pasta party Friday night. I could only add so much garlic to the sauce I was serving 25 teenage runners with. We only had to provide the sauce and pasta, and the boys brought the breadsticks, drinks, fruit, and dessert, depending on what grade they are in. I was told by other moms who have hosted in the past to have extra fruit, drinks, and salad for the guys, which I did. However, I learned that I definitely didn't need the extra fruit as we had tons of that! Next time I host one, I will have extra breadsticks for sure! Anyway, everyone left in good time, and Austin went to bed early to get some rest. Luckily, the meet was at noon on Saturday.

A nice spread and such polite boys!

It was Regionals, which our team was projected to place first in, and Austin was projected to place second. Either way, Austin would be going to States next week. 

As usual, the guy who came in first for the Park, our high school meet, came in first with flying colors. There was a small gap, and then the next 3, which were Austin and the 2 guys from Plymouth that he's been mostly rivaling with all season. Clark took Austin by 4 seconds, and Austin came in a few seconds before LaPointe. So he came in 3rd. None of those guys got PRs, and I'm certain Austin would have beaten Clark if he had been feeling better. Though, in defense of Clark, he's a Senior and I'm sure he was locked into beating the Junior! Austin got a 15:50, which was 10 seconds off his PR, but I am shocked he still got sub 16, also considering he had been stung by a bee, just under his arm, right before the race. (I didn't know that til way later.) In the meantime, after that group of 3 came in a bunch of other Plymouth runners came in. One was a previous soccer teammate of Austin's, and I told his mom that he probably had the best PR of anyone in the meet, as no one else in the top 15 got a PR. We still had 4 of our runners place in the top 15, but it wasn't the best race for any of them. Owen probably had the best race, and he placed 15th. Whereas Plymouth locked in and took the first-place win from us. We took second. Our girls also took second, so the boys and girls Salem XC will be at States next week! We just found out that 2 of Austin's teammates are now sick, so they must have been fighting it a bit during the race. Hopefully, they recover quickly! 

Austin's in front of Clark and LaPointe here.

Now, Clark is just a step in front of Austin. There was still a bit to go.  

And for the record, LaPointe's dad came up to Austin and congratulated him for some great racing this season, as the two of them were neck and neck for so many races. LaPointe is also a Senior, so it's his last XC season in high school. I thought it was so nice of him to take note of Austin and congratulate him. Such great sportsmanship! 

Top 15!

We were still fantastic! 2nd place at Regionals!!

States is the day after Halloween. It will not be a late night for the Mercado family!