Before the race I was a shell. It felt routine. I felt prepared, like I had no reason to fear anything. This fall, I had felt strong at the end of workouts that I couldn’t even finish last year. Looking in the mirror, I honestly believed that I had worked hard and was going to run as hard as I was capable of. This is all I have ever asked of myself in running and the peace made me happy. It didn’t make me any less excited and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing old friends and being at a track meet again!
When we got to the track, I decided to check in early because of a sneaking suspicion that my spikes may be too long for the new track surface. The task of hunting down a handful of shorter ones distracted me from thinking too much about race strategy and anxiety. By the time I was ready to sit back down and relax next to my teammates, Coach Rinker came over to ask how our warm-up was going….”What?? You haven’t been out jogging yet?!” Somewhere between the time we had received our original itinerary to now, the time schedule had changed and our race was earlier than we all had thought. We had only 25 min to warm-up! Well, so much for the specific, detailed warm-up I had planned out with Coach. Having Sally and Julia by my side, we kept each other calm as we shortened our jog and hurried back in to finish strides.
Next thing I knew, we were in the middle of the race. 5 laps to go and I was just rolling along. Not many thoughts went through my head. I was running alongside people, behind people, passed people, but my focus was completely within, in my mind, in my body. I remember clips of things….people yelling for me in certain spots along the track, a few splits. And then there was a lap and a half to go and for a split second I remembered last year. Nope, I would finish this sucker off different. I grew tall, tucked my hips back, and cranked my arms. I had no idea what my time was but I knew it had to be ok. I had finished pretty high and beaten several girls who normally beat me. I had worked hard but it had felt smooth, strong, successful. I was happy for my teammates Julia (who had P.R.ed and ran really tough) and Sally (who had won and run only a few seconds from her P.R. where she had had competition.) The boys had all run well too and we enjoyed a rare occurrence where everyone was content with where they were. There will always be more to strive towards and desire in this sport, but you also have to be able to celebrate and appreciate where you are and how far you have come. As Coach Row would say, “Another box ticked.” Everyday moving forward. Everyday, one step closer.
Next thing I knew, we were in the middle of the race. 5 laps to go and I was just rolling along. Not many thoughts went through my head. I was running alongside people, behind people, passed people, but my focus was completely within, in my mind, in my body. I remember clips of things….people yelling for me in certain spots along the track, a few splits. And then there was a lap and a half to go and for a split second I remembered last year. Nope, I would finish this sucker off different. I grew tall, tucked my hips back, and cranked my arms. I had no idea what my time was but I knew it had to be ok. I had finished pretty high and beaten several girls who normally beat me. I had worked hard but it had felt smooth, strong, successful. I was happy for my teammates Julia (who had P.R.ed and ran really tough) and Sally (who had won and run only a few seconds from her P.R. where she had had competition.) The boys had all run well too and we enjoyed a rare occurrence where everyone was content with where they were. There will always be more to strive towards and desire in this sport, but you also have to be able to celebrate and appreciate where you are and how far you have come. As Coach Row would say, “Another box ticked.” Everyday moving forward. Everyday, one step closer.
Section 3 1 Kipyego, Sally Otc 8:47.91R 2 Flood, Katie Washington 8:55.31$ 3 Elmore, Malindi Unattached 8:59.95$ 4 Lucas, Julia Otc 9:01.16$ 5 Franek, Bridget Otc 9:04.09$ 6 Mackey-Follett, Katie Brooks 9:05.73$ 7 Bizzarri, Angela Brooks 9:12.66 8 Henry, Amber Weber State 9:13.81 9 Lawrence, Collier Unattached 9:25.60 10 Goethals, Megan Washington 9:26.51 11 Rohde, Kristen Bowerman Ath 9:27.69 12 Beecham, Annie Team Run Eugene 9:28.34 13 Medina, Diana Southern Utah 9:31.93 14 Gregg, Kaitlin New Balance 9:34.61 15 Picchetti, Natalie Adidas-TeamR 9:38.45 16 Bryson, Taylor California 9:57.94
(From FloTrack)
