All Downhill From Here

Tonight both my kids had soccer practice on fields next to each other at about the same time. The fields were within walking distance of home, so I walked the kids to the field and then took off running.

Like Sunday, I slalomed between trees on the boulevards en route to the hilly parks. I added in a different park in Ranchlands this time and was encouraged by hundreds of prairie crocuses. I guess they bloom for a couple of weeks, not just a few days. I made it up to the Hawkwood-Edgemont bridge over Sarcee in 32 minutes, and then turned around and headed back to the soccer fields.

When I got back after 56 minutes of running, the coaches and kids were still going strong. There was a chilly breeze and I wasn’t dressed for standing around, so I ran three more laps around the soccer/baseball plateau while the kids finished up.

At the end of the teenage boys’ practice, Coach got the parents out on the field for a kind of scrimmage. He had the boys play in their designated positions, and we parents tried our best to be moving obstacles. Every now and then Coach would blow a whistle and point out a flaw in their positioning strategy. It gave us parents a break, too.

I enjoyed running out on the field with the team, but it was very apparent to me why I’m a runner, not a soccer player (…yet. never say never). I don’t deek, unless I’m avoiding a stationary tree. Oh, and I can’t receive a soccer pass for the life of me. When one of the parents passed directly to me I managed to catch the ball between both my feet and fall right over it. You know you’ve been trying hard when you have grass stains on your knees!