Today was the long awaited and much anticipated Jog-a-thon at Ss. Simon and Jude. The Irish spirit was out in force, with all manner of green frippery and frou-frou on display. Besides shirts, I saw tutus, fancy socks, hats, even a full leprechaun costume (loved that dude!). We Heidmanns, of course, totally failed in the spirit department, with barely speck of green in our bunch, but brought as many along as we could to cheer on our speedster. Besides me-self, Grandma, Grandpa, Jacob, Ellie, Ruben, and even Daddy were able to attend. The K-1 classes ran on the medium sized track, and it was great to see the families cheering, and then as the older classes came out, they lined the side of the field and raised up a mighty noise to bring the runners in for their final laps. It was super festive – they had a music system set up playing up-tempo songs, and the last five minutes started with “I’m Still Standing.” Fun stuff. 🙂
Efrain started out strong, but by the second lap I was thinking “What is wrong with those feet? Why are they moving so slowly?” This was not my normal light-speed little guy I was seeing out there, who runs for sheer joy. He was lagging, brow furrowed, stopping for a drink between every lap. I realized he was having trouble breathing as his shoulders started to go up. I didn’t know if the school nurse was even out there, whether his inhaler was nearby or what to do. I kept my eyes on him, and he kept going. Kept running the whole 30 minutes – not nearly his normal speed, but he never quit, and I was so proud of his determination. He pushed through 25 laps while having an asthma attack! What a trooper! I couldn’t be more delighted, and I’m even going to throw in a little extra to the pledge pot.
