Until now I have shown remarkable restraint in not bragging in this column about my granddaughter, Lily Grace, aka the Center of the Universe.
But as the old saying goes, "It ain't bragging when it's fact."
As you may remember, I wrote a few weeks ago about buying a pedometer to log my steps while walking for this Shape We're In project. My neighborhood walk was just over 2,300 steps, which is a little more than a mile (2,000 steps).
I joked that my goal was to become "sedentary," the level of activity that one Web site said was 5,000 steps a day.
Since then, I've been adding a little more distance with each visit to the Wolftever Greenway.
Last Saturday I reached 2 miles.
I was feeling pretty smug about that -- until I learned that my spunky little granddaughter had topped me by a half-mile at the Chickamauga Chase that morning.
Yes, 22-month-old Lily walked the entire 2.6-mile course of the Scenic Walk in the Chase.
The Chickamauga Chase is the big road race sponsored by the Chattanooga Track Club. It has been around for more than 40 years.
It's held in Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park, and there are several routes ranging from a 1-kilometer Kiddie K to the competitive 15K.
My daughter-in-law, Aimee, entered the competitive run -- her first time in a race. She finished it still running after nine miles, which is impressive to me.
While she ran, Ruston and Lily signed up for the Scenic Walk, which is designed for parents to push small children in strollers and baby joggers.
No stroller for Lily, though.
She saw her Mom and everyone else running and thought she should as well.
Russ said Lily really got into the spirit of the event. She was giving high-fives to the competitive runners as they passed, and she even sported her own tiny Chickamauga Chase T-shirt.
I am so proud of Aimee and Lily for finishing their first race.
As Russ and Aimee described the great family atmosphere at the Chickamauga Chase and the beauty of the battlefield in spring, I knew that next year I'll be ready to walk the "Chick Chase," as Lily called it, with her.