third's for the birds

This was taken Thursday. She tore up the track at South Salem, and has moved on to the Bush Park league. This was only her second time running this course, which is mostly uphill. Not only did she shave a minute and 18 seconds off her mile, she placed third out of 121 kids. Obviously we were hella proud of her, but she was not having it. She wasn't a bad sport, she just can't conceptualize anything but blue ribbons now. Thus, she wouldn't look at the camera. I cannot imagine whence this streak of perfectionism came...

This kid is serious. She only wears track clothes made of like neoprene and shit, and we are eagerly awaiting her "Team Winter" jersey in the mail. She runs through the house timing herself on a cell phone, "Mom, I just ran from the couch to the back wall in 3.18 seconds, and yesterday it took me 3.21 seconds!" She's practicing endurance at the track at McKay, and as soon as superstar Winter returns from CO with her lacerated knee, it's over. We will live at the rock wall. There are still signs of the old Reilly too if you look closely enough though. Her fingernails are painted black, her new Converse (pathetic, non-competing shoes) have skulls on them, and she is an effing maniac about her days-of-the-week underwear and socks, even when the socks clash so loudly they will blind you. Also, she would kill me in my sleep if she knew I referenced her underwear online. But damn. I am so proud of this kid, even as she stands incredulously on the 3rd place podium with painfully yellow socks. They go perfectly with her purple highlights:

(For Gail, who wanted to see.) I love you Reilly.