On Monday, I had a very interesting practice. I was the only distance runner there, because three of the girls were at a fresh/soph track meet and two girls couldn't come (we are down to only six distance girls when we had about 20 in xc). My coach gave me a sort of private practice which was very weird. Very, very weird. He did have a point though, when he was analyzing the running form of the people on the track around us. While telling me how my form has improved, he also mentioned how other people could become better. As one boy ran by, my coach told me that he ran like an xc or distance runner although he was a hurdler. Because this kid also plays football (I think) there's no way this would happen, though he'd probably be pretty good. It made me wonder if I chose the right distance or if I would be better being a sprinter while in high school. Then, I couldn't help but thinking about how I chose to be a distance runner. Or how I didn't really choose, but instead how the sport chose me.
In first grade I ran my first mile in about nine and a half minutes (yes, I know all my elementary school mile times). I beat everyone in my combined first/second grade class except three or four boys. It gave me such an exhilarating feeling, I was hooked. I wanted to become faster, to get even better.
I rocked the mile throughout elementary school, continually beating almost everyone. Occasionally some boys would get ahead of me, but they knew I could run just as fast as them. This early talent led me to join YMCA track and field, which is just a bunch of little kids pretending they know how to run. In the short events, such as everything from the 60m to 400m dash, I was just one among the pack. But in the 600m (which I thought was really long), I was good. And so I became a "distance" runner in elementary school.
In middle school, I continued running the longer races, sometimes being the only one from my school. I didn't have the initial burst of speed needed to be a sprinter but I could outkick all my teammates in the last lap of the 1500m. I still don't have that speed, which is evident by our workout yesterday, but I do have that kick.
I wasn't really a "distance" runner though, until I went to high school. Now I feel the urge to just go for a seven mile run, not thinking much of it. My race distances have become a little longer and I'm a lot faster but I still run the distance events. A decision that went back to elementary school. I think I made the right choice.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Sunday, April 26, 2009
RACE REPORT: FOR THE FIRST TIME
"A dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination, and hard work." ~Colin Powell
When I trained during the winter, running miles and miles in the cold and snow, I often wondered why I was doing it. As I struggled up icy hills and fought against the freezing wind, I asked myself if anything would make it worth it. Why was I outside when no one else seemed to be? Why did I keep going when it was so hard? Why was I running? Was it worth it?Yesterday, among the hovering clouds and the ever present rain, I found an answer.
My track meet was not looking good. It had been hot all week and because I wasn't used to it, the heat was affecting me more than usual. The workouts had been really tiring me out and I've been barely keeping up with my teammate on most of them. My left quad and shins have been hurting, and I've been icing them without letting my coach know. The four meets in two weeks had really tired me out and I wasn't sure how I would do. About 2/3's of our team weren't coming to the meet because they were either at the Drake Relays (only about five were actually competing) or they just didn't bother to come. I thought the Drake Relays would lessen the competition among the distance events, but because we were only competing against three teams, all the distance runners were there.
While nothing leading up to this meet boded well, the weather looked fantastic. The gray skies constantly threatened to downpour while a steady drizzle fell. The temperature was in the mid 50's and everything was damp. It was a beautiful day to run. At least in my opinion, as the spectators and my teammates seemed to disagree. I couldn't wait to race though, and was beginning to feel a little bit better about how I would do.
My coach had told me I was to run an 800 and the 1500. While I wasn't listed to run an 800, my coach said he'd fit me in somewhere. Because he, the distance coach, was acting as the head coach (who was at Drake), I figured he'd be able to find me an 800. When I asked him before the meet however, he told me that the 1500m was all I would do because he wasn't allowed to move the lineups. Minutes after my coach decided this, he found that the anchor of the distance medley (an 800) wasn't coming and that I would run in her place. Our JV runners were entered in the event and they weren't a fast relay team but that would lessen the pressure on me. I was walking with my teammate JS, who was running the 3000, and was about to warm up, when my coach changed his plans.
Apparently, the 4x800 team was missing a runner. One girl was already scheduled to not attend the meet and another girl just didn't show up. Because the 4x800 relay was better than the distance medley, my coach was switching me with a girl he had chosen to replace the missing runner. The only problem was that he told me this twenty minutes before the race was to begin. I told him I hadn't started warming up yet but all he said was that I better begin.
I crunched my hour to fifty minute warmup into twenty minutes, running two fast laps and doing some quick stretching, only stopping for the national anthem. I was to take the place of the third runner, which gave me some extra time, but I wasn't able to stop at the bathroom or do any strides. All this rushing was giving my some extra adrenaline and I was still able to watch JS place second in the 3000, behind the girl who ran the 3000m at Drake and was running the first leg of the 4x800 for her team.
After half of the race was over, I received the baton in third place, about 10m behind second place. I immediately took off and was right behind the girl after 100m, where my coach was standing. He yelled at me to just hang on to her and only pass her when I knew I could. Being in charge must have done something to my coach, because he was actually shouting advice that made sense. I followed his words and the girl, passing her in front of her teammates with 100m left on the first lap after doing a slingshot move off the corner. I wasn't about to let her do the same to me on the second lap so I was really pushing it. By the time I handed off to our final runner, I had made up a lot of ground on first place although I didn't have a kick in the last 100m.
We placed second in the race, with the gaps about the same as when I handed off. I knew I had ran a fast 800m but I didn't realize how fast it was until my coach walked over with the splits. We had finished with a time of 10:41, with the other's splits being 2:39, 2:42, and 2:45. My split- 2:34, tying my PR which was run last May when my coach told me I had the chance to make it on the varsity 4x800 team and possibly qualify for state. That is also the second fastest 800 ran on the team this season which made me feel pretty good.
My meet was only beginning however, because I still had the 1500m left. Although the meet was going pretty fast, my friends went home while I enjoyed the rain. This kind of disappointed me because I thought I might be able to do well in the 1500. A lack of teammates wasn't going to stop me from doing my best and I wanted to make my coach proud.
It was still drizzling out as my teammate, who was running the JV 1500, and I began warming up for our race. We had began a little earlier than usual because the meet was going quickly. After three laps, we did some stretching and cheered on our team. My coach came over and told me that our team was in last place, three points behind, and I better get some points for our team so we could show the Drake people that we could beat teams without them. The host school was parading their seniors around, which added a lot of unexpected time before our race. The meet went very slowly after this because of various delays, especially in the 200m. We ran an extra lap and did some strides before I put on my spikes and stepped on the track. There was supposed to be lane assignments but they apparently didn't matter. I managed to get into the inside of lane four and then we were off.
I don't like the first 100m of the race because everyone cuts each other off during the sprint. While everyone was fighting each other in the pack, I positioned myself in second place. This surprised me and I worried that I had started out too fast. I knew the girl ahead of me probably did because she was the girl I had passed during the 4x800. Using my race tactics, I let the girl go and concentrated on running my own race. I ran the first lap in 82 seconds, which was, as my coach yelled, where I was supposed to be.
With 2.5 laps to go, a runner from the same team as the girl ahead of me, moved next to me. I matched her stride to stride as we ran in the rain. She seemed to be running strong but I wasn't going to let her get away from me. We were closing the gap on the girl ahead of us and there was no way that I was letting her take the lead. As I passed my coach, who stood at the 1500m starting line, I had dropped the girl by a few seconds and was getting close to first place. My coach just reassured me that I was doing what I was supposed to do.
I was running almost directly behind the lead girl with 1.5 laps to go. That was when I realized that the gun could go off for me. Something I had only dreamed of, the gun might actually go off for me. Tactics didn't concern me as I took off, determined to get to the line before the girl ahead of me.
As I came into the front stretch, there was nobody ahead of me. I was in the lead. Everyone was chasing me. The few people that knew me, that had stayed around to watch, were all screaming my name. A few steps before the line, I watched and smiled as I watched the gun guy lift up his hand. When the gun went off to signal the last lap for the leader, it was going off for me. It was actually going off for me.
When I rounded the curve, I was smiling, not believing what I was doing. I had a race to finish though, and I wasn't about to lose it in the last lap. As I passed my coach at the starting line, where he stood only steps away, he told me that this was where I was so much stronger, this last lap. He wouldn't have had to say anything however, there was no way I was going to let anyone take this race away from me. This was going to be my race.
With 200m to go, I had no idea of how far behind the other girls were. I wasn't about to look back so I only pushed myself harder. I was focused on getting to the line first. When I rounded the curve onto the final stretch, I was by myself. I heard my parents and teammates cheering as I kicked with everything I had left. I sprinted the last 100m in front of the crowd in the rain.
I crossed the line in first place, ahead of every other person running the 1500m. I had won. I won the 1500m. I don't think I have ever won a real race before, there was always a boy or an older runner. Sure, I have beat everybody in the mile at school but in a real race, this was probably the first time that I had ever won. I've thought about it before, what it would be like to come in first, and you know what, it is cool. It is so incredibly awesome.
While I was standing across the finish line, somebody handed me a card with the number one on it and sent me towards a guy holding a clipboard. I glanced at my card, mesmerized by the sight of it. Number one. The clipboard guy was very nice to me and allowed me to catch my breath before I told him my name. When he asked for my card, I relunctantly handed it over. I wanted to keep it, but instead congratulated the other runners who finished behind me. The girl who had run beside me for awhile thanked me for pushing her and I told my teammate she had done a good job, as I watched my coach walk over. We both had smiles on our faces as he high fived me and called me the 1500 meter champion. Those so very wonderful words. Because I had won my race.
They announced the results of the race while we were running a cooldown. I smiled as they said my name, hearing my parents yell and watching my coach cheer. Whenever he saw me, my coach called me the 1500m champion. He also told me that I had ran a "blazing" last lap. I received the congratulations from my teammates who had stayed but I was kind of in shock. I had won my race. It certainly made my coach estastic, he texted an assistant coach about my win who then replied that I was awesome. My coach texted back, "I know".
My name was in the paper today, under the results. The winner of the 1500m. I came in at 5:18, tying my PR and a surprisingly eleven seconds ahead of second place. My time didn't matter though, I had achieved something I had only dreamed of. All of the running I did over the winter, everything I did, it was worth it. I had won. I won my race.
1500
Me (1st)- 5:18
2nd- 5:29
3rd- 5:31
Our team score, that I contributed all of my points to, tied us for third place, out of four teams. It was slightly disappointing but for me, it didn't really matter. I achieved more than what I expected at that rainy track meet.
When I trained during the winter, running miles and miles in the cold and snow, I often wondered why I was doing it. As I struggled up icy hills and fought against the freezing wind, I asked myself if anything would make it worth it. Why was I outside when no one else seemed to be? Why did I keep going when it was so hard? Why was I running? Was it worth it?Yesterday, among the hovering clouds and the ever present rain, I found an answer.
My track meet was not looking good. It had been hot all week and because I wasn't used to it, the heat was affecting me more than usual. The workouts had been really tiring me out and I've been barely keeping up with my teammate on most of them. My left quad and shins have been hurting, and I've been icing them without letting my coach know. The four meets in two weeks had really tired me out and I wasn't sure how I would do. About 2/3's of our team weren't coming to the meet because they were either at the Drake Relays (only about five were actually competing) or they just didn't bother to come. I thought the Drake Relays would lessen the competition among the distance events, but because we were only competing against three teams, all the distance runners were there.
While nothing leading up to this meet boded well, the weather looked fantastic. The gray skies constantly threatened to downpour while a steady drizzle fell. The temperature was in the mid 50's and everything was damp. It was a beautiful day to run. At least in my opinion, as the spectators and my teammates seemed to disagree. I couldn't wait to race though, and was beginning to feel a little bit better about how I would do.
My coach had told me I was to run an 800 and the 1500. While I wasn't listed to run an 800, my coach said he'd fit me in somewhere. Because he, the distance coach, was acting as the head coach (who was at Drake), I figured he'd be able to find me an 800. When I asked him before the meet however, he told me that the 1500m was all I would do because he wasn't allowed to move the lineups. Minutes after my coach decided this, he found that the anchor of the distance medley (an 800) wasn't coming and that I would run in her place. Our JV runners were entered in the event and they weren't a fast relay team but that would lessen the pressure on me. I was walking with my teammate JS, who was running the 3000, and was about to warm up, when my coach changed his plans.
Apparently, the 4x800 team was missing a runner. One girl was already scheduled to not attend the meet and another girl just didn't show up. Because the 4x800 relay was better than the distance medley, my coach was switching me with a girl he had chosen to replace the missing runner. The only problem was that he told me this twenty minutes before the race was to begin. I told him I hadn't started warming up yet but all he said was that I better begin.
I crunched my hour to fifty minute warmup into twenty minutes, running two fast laps and doing some quick stretching, only stopping for the national anthem. I was to take the place of the third runner, which gave me some extra time, but I wasn't able to stop at the bathroom or do any strides. All this rushing was giving my some extra adrenaline and I was still able to watch JS place second in the 3000, behind the girl who ran the 3000m at Drake and was running the first leg of the 4x800 for her team.
After half of the race was over, I received the baton in third place, about 10m behind second place. I immediately took off and was right behind the girl after 100m, where my coach was standing. He yelled at me to just hang on to her and only pass her when I knew I could. Being in charge must have done something to my coach, because he was actually shouting advice that made sense. I followed his words and the girl, passing her in front of her teammates with 100m left on the first lap after doing a slingshot move off the corner. I wasn't about to let her do the same to me on the second lap so I was really pushing it. By the time I handed off to our final runner, I had made up a lot of ground on first place although I didn't have a kick in the last 100m.
We placed second in the race, with the gaps about the same as when I handed off. I knew I had ran a fast 800m but I didn't realize how fast it was until my coach walked over with the splits. We had finished with a time of 10:41, with the other's splits being 2:39, 2:42, and 2:45. My split- 2:34, tying my PR which was run last May when my coach told me I had the chance to make it on the varsity 4x800 team and possibly qualify for state. That is also the second fastest 800 ran on the team this season which made me feel pretty good.
My meet was only beginning however, because I still had the 1500m left. Although the meet was going pretty fast, my friends went home while I enjoyed the rain. This kind of disappointed me because I thought I might be able to do well in the 1500. A lack of teammates wasn't going to stop me from doing my best and I wanted to make my coach proud.
It was still drizzling out as my teammate, who was running the JV 1500, and I began warming up for our race. We had began a little earlier than usual because the meet was going quickly. After three laps, we did some stretching and cheered on our team. My coach came over and told me that our team was in last place, three points behind, and I better get some points for our team so we could show the Drake people that we could beat teams without them. The host school was parading their seniors around, which added a lot of unexpected time before our race. The meet went very slowly after this because of various delays, especially in the 200m. We ran an extra lap and did some strides before I put on my spikes and stepped on the track. There was supposed to be lane assignments but they apparently didn't matter. I managed to get into the inside of lane four and then we were off.
I don't like the first 100m of the race because everyone cuts each other off during the sprint. While everyone was fighting each other in the pack, I positioned myself in second place. This surprised me and I worried that I had started out too fast. I knew the girl ahead of me probably did because she was the girl I had passed during the 4x800. Using my race tactics, I let the girl go and concentrated on running my own race. I ran the first lap in 82 seconds, which was, as my coach yelled, where I was supposed to be.
With 2.5 laps to go, a runner from the same team as the girl ahead of me, moved next to me. I matched her stride to stride as we ran in the rain. She seemed to be running strong but I wasn't going to let her get away from me. We were closing the gap on the girl ahead of us and there was no way that I was letting her take the lead. As I passed my coach, who stood at the 1500m starting line, I had dropped the girl by a few seconds and was getting close to first place. My coach just reassured me that I was doing what I was supposed to do.
I was running almost directly behind the lead girl with 1.5 laps to go. That was when I realized that the gun could go off for me. Something I had only dreamed of, the gun might actually go off for me. Tactics didn't concern me as I took off, determined to get to the line before the girl ahead of me.
As I came into the front stretch, there was nobody ahead of me. I was in the lead. Everyone was chasing me. The few people that knew me, that had stayed around to watch, were all screaming my name. A few steps before the line, I watched and smiled as I watched the gun guy lift up his hand. When the gun went off to signal the last lap for the leader, it was going off for me. It was actually going off for me.
When I rounded the curve, I was smiling, not believing what I was doing. I had a race to finish though, and I wasn't about to lose it in the last lap. As I passed my coach at the starting line, where he stood only steps away, he told me that this was where I was so much stronger, this last lap. He wouldn't have had to say anything however, there was no way I was going to let anyone take this race away from me. This was going to be my race.
With 200m to go, I had no idea of how far behind the other girls were. I wasn't about to look back so I only pushed myself harder. I was focused on getting to the line first. When I rounded the curve onto the final stretch, I was by myself. I heard my parents and teammates cheering as I kicked with everything I had left. I sprinted the last 100m in front of the crowd in the rain.
I crossed the line in first place, ahead of every other person running the 1500m. I had won. I won the 1500m. I don't think I have ever won a real race before, there was always a boy or an older runner. Sure, I have beat everybody in the mile at school but in a real race, this was probably the first time that I had ever won. I've thought about it before, what it would be like to come in first, and you know what, it is cool. It is so incredibly awesome.
While I was standing across the finish line, somebody handed me a card with the number one on it and sent me towards a guy holding a clipboard. I glanced at my card, mesmerized by the sight of it. Number one. The clipboard guy was very nice to me and allowed me to catch my breath before I told him my name. When he asked for my card, I relunctantly handed it over. I wanted to keep it, but instead congratulated the other runners who finished behind me. The girl who had run beside me for awhile thanked me for pushing her and I told my teammate she had done a good job, as I watched my coach walk over. We both had smiles on our faces as he high fived me and called me the 1500 meter champion. Those so very wonderful words. Because I had won my race.
They announced the results of the race while we were running a cooldown. I smiled as they said my name, hearing my parents yell and watching my coach cheer. Whenever he saw me, my coach called me the 1500m champion. He also told me that I had ran a "blazing" last lap. I received the congratulations from my teammates who had stayed but I was kind of in shock. I had won my race. It certainly made my coach estastic, he texted an assistant coach about my win who then replied that I was awesome. My coach texted back, "I know".
My name was in the paper today, under the results. The winner of the 1500m. I came in at 5:18, tying my PR and a surprisingly eleven seconds ahead of second place. My time didn't matter though, I had achieved something I had only dreamed of. All of the running I did over the winter, everything I did, it was worth it. I had won. I won my race.
1500
Me (1st)- 5:18
2nd- 5:29
3rd- 5:31
Our team score, that I contributed all of my points to, tied us for third place, out of four teams. It was slightly disappointing but for me, it didn't really matter. I achieved more than what I expected at that rainy track meet.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
RACE REPORT: RUNNING IN THE SUN
On Friday, I had my third track meet in seven days and fourth in two weeks. Needless to say, I was a little tired. I had taken Wednesday off and didn't run much on Thursday, but running hard all the time is not a good recovery. It was a nice 70 degrees for our track meet but a little warm, considering it was 20 degrees warmer than the previous week. There was only five teams but it was coed and both jv and varsity.
I ran the 3000, the first race, in which we only had to stand on the line for more than five minutes. When we were lined up, our lanes were decided by time. I was third from the left, meaning only two girls (two of the big four) had faster times. This was pretty cool because that meant I had beat the more than ten girls to my right. It also meant I had a chance to do well in this race.
It wasn't a very exciting race because the gaps were very large. I ran by myself in third place for practically the whole race, and second and fourth place were so far that there wasn't really anybody to race. That doesn't mean I didn't try my hardest, it just means that I had no one to push me extra hard.
The rest of the meet was spent playing on the playground with my teammates and sitting on the bleachers watching my friends run. I stayed until the end of the meet at 10:30 (it started at 5:00). There was some inspirational moments from some of my teammates but my legs were just so tired that the meet wasn't that exciting.
3000
1st- 10:31
2nd- 11:29
Me (3rd)- 11:50
JS- 12:02
This is the first race of the year that I haven't PRed in (not counting the 800's) which is kind of disappointing but it's not like I thought that I could continue that. I beat JS by a lot which is kind of nice but there was a big gap between the first four places. I was able to work on pacing myself and my coach liked the race so overall, I'm okay with it.
I ran the 3000, the first race, in which we only had to stand on the line for more than five minutes. When we were lined up, our lanes were decided by time. I was third from the left, meaning only two girls (two of the big four) had faster times. This was pretty cool because that meant I had beat the more than ten girls to my right. It also meant I had a chance to do well in this race.
It wasn't a very exciting race because the gaps were very large. I ran by myself in third place for practically the whole race, and second and fourth place were so far that there wasn't really anybody to race. That doesn't mean I didn't try my hardest, it just means that I had no one to push me extra hard.
The rest of the meet was spent playing on the playground with my teammates and sitting on the bleachers watching my friends run. I stayed until the end of the meet at 10:30 (it started at 5:00). There was some inspirational moments from some of my teammates but my legs were just so tired that the meet wasn't that exciting.
3000
1st- 10:31
2nd- 11:29
Me (3rd)- 11:50
JS- 12:02
This is the first race of the year that I haven't PRed in (not counting the 800's) which is kind of disappointing but it's not like I thought that I could continue that. I beat JS by a lot which is kind of nice but there was a big gap between the first four places. I was able to work on pacing myself and my coach liked the race so overall, I'm okay with it.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
RACE REPORT: TIRED LEGS
On Tuesday, I had my third track meet in one week. Due to the fact that I am not a machine and that I have to recover sometime, it was not a good one. At least in my opinion. I have no idea why they expect us to be able to run faster with only two or three days of recovery between meets because you can't. Especially if you run the 3000 and 1500. The people in charge need to realize that hey, not everybody runs two 200's so maybe we should give a couple more days between meets (although I haven't run 200's before so I'm not sure how long it takes to recover but it's probably less tiring than the 1500). Because I had just run the 1500 and 3000 on Saturday, I did take the day off on Sunday and ran three miles on Monday. My legs were incredibly tired going into the meet, I could barely do the three miles in 25:30, about 1.5 minutes slower than Friday. I was not expecting good things from the meet, but apparently I did alright.
Our team got out of school early which is always a plus for track meets. Except than we had to go on a hour long bus ride in a school bus because, being only the track team, we don't get charter buses. I have ran on the track we went to once before. I remember about three things from that meet: it was cold and windy, I placed second in the JV 1500, and I almost missed my race because we were in the bathroom. The track is kind of weird; it's backwards, meaning the finish line is opposite where you enter at.
I ran the team warmup, doing two laps and stretching. AK was running the 3000 by herself so I spent some time with her. I waited a little longer than usual, waiting to see if my 4x800 relay team would warmup but they didn't and I didn't know where they were, so I did two more laps by myself. About twenty minutes before the race, my teammates run one lap and call it a warmup with minimal stretching. Considering that two of them run xc, they should know better.
The JV teams ran first, and then our race began. I was running second and I received the baton with only two people behind me, which meant there was a lot of teams ahead of me. My legs were feeling pretty good so I was able to take off and catch a girl on the back stretch. Because we were going about the same pace, I looked to see if her teammates were on that side, so I could pass her in front of them. Yes, this is not the best racing technique and kind of mean, but it discourages the runner. I wasn't sure which team was hers and I waited until after the curve to pass her, near my team.
On the second lap, I passed one more girl. With 100m to go, my legs were tired and my kick wasn't there. I was hoping nobody was right behind me because I wouldn't be able to hold them off and fortunately, I handed the baton off with nobody passing me. I'm not sure what time or place we ended up getting but the 4x800 didn't seem as important to me. I don't like the race very much because you have to sprint two laps and there is not really any racing, just sprinting.
4x800 split- 2:37
JS was supposed to run the 1500 with me but she wasn't there because she was sick. AK decided she would try the big double and run the 1500m along with the 3000m (which she placed third in with a time of 12:00). The meet was anywhere from 25 to 35 minutes ahead so we weren't exactly sure when to warmup. We ran three or four laps as a warmup before stretching. Although my legs were very tired and tight, the adrenaline was flowing because this was the 1500 (my favorite race) and we were running under the lights. My coach talked to us and told me he wanted to see me run 5:15 although he wasn't sure how I'd be after running the big double on Saturday. The weather was a little chilly but nice so I thought this would be possible.
We had a bit of trouble checking in, for some reason they weren't doing this at the starting line or the finish line, or announcing where they were doing this. We went to check in right before the JV 1500 but the guy was ignoring us so we had to have our teammates do this. It seems like we have this problem a lot although I'm not sure how to fix it, except to have the people organize the meets better.
Since we didn't check in, we weren't sure what the lane assignments were, and it turns out there was none. There wasn't really any options except lane one which I took because although it is the worst lane, it also seems to be my lane. I was having to push another girl over even before the race because she was pushing me off the track. We were allowed to cut in immediately, so of course, as soon as the race began I was cut off. After a bit of shoving and elbowing, I went around the pack and moved up towards the front. I usually start at the back but since I had been doing okay, I was feeling confident that I could run in the front. Not a good idea. Don't change your racing tactics during a race.
I was running in 4th place behind 1st and 2nd who were running a little farther up. I wasn't sure how fast I was going but I was feeling good. Then I crossed the line with two laps to go and realized that I was tired. So incredibly tired. I knew I was in trouble because I immediately fell back and a gap opened up. I tried to close it but my legs just wouldn't move fast. A couple of girls became even with me and I tried to push it. It just wasn't there. The entire lap was like this, my coach knew I was getting slower and he was yelling at me to move up. I was trying so hard but it wasn't working.
The last lap was not good. My racing tactic of a fast lap was gone, all I wanted to do was finish the race. I tried my hardest because I knew that it wasn't going well. I was running as fast as I could but my legs were heavy. With 200m to go, my coach told me to catch some girls that had moved ahead of me so I could score, not like he cares about that anyways. I tried because I didn't want to disappoint him but it wasn't there. With 100m left, all I could do was hope nobody was behind me because I had no more energy.
I crossed the line as someone was saying 5:17, 5:18. I had only cut a second off my time. I'm not sure what place I came in but it didn't really matter. AK came in about 20 seconds after me but that didn't matter either. I felt terrible, not only because I had only improved by a second, been passed by a couple of people, and used bad racing techniques, but I didn't do what my coach told me to do. I had disappointed myself and him, and I'm not sure which was worse.
We ran two laps as a cooldown as my coach watched us from the fence. He made no attempt to talk to us, and judging by my previous experiences with him, he was in a bad mood. I gave him chances to talk to me but I left for home with my dad without talking to my coach. I knew I had disappointed him and I felt bad, my legs had been so tired but I had tried my hardest.
Yesterday, I had an arguement with my mom about whether or not I should go to practice. I had arrived home at 11:00 the night before, had a lot of homework, and was very tired. After a compromise, I agreed to skip practice and make up my Spanish test that I had missed. I felt bad for missing practice, although I realized I needed to. This meant that I had to talk to my coach before school.
I really don't like talking to my coach outside of practices and meets because he sometimes scares me. I was nervous going into his room because all I could think about was the meet the day before. How he reacted though, was different that what I expected. He was in a good mood and told me that I had done a good job at the meet. My coach also compared me to the legend of distance running at my school, which is a huge compliment. He said that I had done a great job running over the winter and that I was the one who improved. That I had done all the hard work and that he was only guiding me along at practices.
This meant so much to me because I knew he meant every word. He doesn't give fake compliments or many compliments at all. I'm not sure how he felt about the meet after I had ran but I think he realized that I was tired and had given it my all. I'm not happy with the meet though, and I want to improve on those results.
1500- 5:18
This was surprising because I thought I was going a lot slower, but I guess I wasn't. It's a PR but it wasn't fun.
Our team got out of school early which is always a plus for track meets. Except than we had to go on a hour long bus ride in a school bus because, being only the track team, we don't get charter buses. I have ran on the track we went to once before. I remember about three things from that meet: it was cold and windy, I placed second in the JV 1500, and I almost missed my race because we were in the bathroom. The track is kind of weird; it's backwards, meaning the finish line is opposite where you enter at.
I ran the team warmup, doing two laps and stretching. AK was running the 3000 by herself so I spent some time with her. I waited a little longer than usual, waiting to see if my 4x800 relay team would warmup but they didn't and I didn't know where they were, so I did two more laps by myself. About twenty minutes before the race, my teammates run one lap and call it a warmup with minimal stretching. Considering that two of them run xc, they should know better.
The JV teams ran first, and then our race began. I was running second and I received the baton with only two people behind me, which meant there was a lot of teams ahead of me. My legs were feeling pretty good so I was able to take off and catch a girl on the back stretch. Because we were going about the same pace, I looked to see if her teammates were on that side, so I could pass her in front of them. Yes, this is not the best racing technique and kind of mean, but it discourages the runner. I wasn't sure which team was hers and I waited until after the curve to pass her, near my team.
On the second lap, I passed one more girl. With 100m to go, my legs were tired and my kick wasn't there. I was hoping nobody was right behind me because I wouldn't be able to hold them off and fortunately, I handed the baton off with nobody passing me. I'm not sure what time or place we ended up getting but the 4x800 didn't seem as important to me. I don't like the race very much because you have to sprint two laps and there is not really any racing, just sprinting.
4x800 split- 2:37
JS was supposed to run the 1500 with me but she wasn't there because she was sick. AK decided she would try the big double and run the 1500m along with the 3000m (which she placed third in with a time of 12:00). The meet was anywhere from 25 to 35 minutes ahead so we weren't exactly sure when to warmup. We ran three or four laps as a warmup before stretching. Although my legs were very tired and tight, the adrenaline was flowing because this was the 1500 (my favorite race) and we were running under the lights. My coach talked to us and told me he wanted to see me run 5:15 although he wasn't sure how I'd be after running the big double on Saturday. The weather was a little chilly but nice so I thought this would be possible.
We had a bit of trouble checking in, for some reason they weren't doing this at the starting line or the finish line, or announcing where they were doing this. We went to check in right before the JV 1500 but the guy was ignoring us so we had to have our teammates do this. It seems like we have this problem a lot although I'm not sure how to fix it, except to have the people organize the meets better.
Since we didn't check in, we weren't sure what the lane assignments were, and it turns out there was none. There wasn't really any options except lane one which I took because although it is the worst lane, it also seems to be my lane. I was having to push another girl over even before the race because she was pushing me off the track. We were allowed to cut in immediately, so of course, as soon as the race began I was cut off. After a bit of shoving and elbowing, I went around the pack and moved up towards the front. I usually start at the back but since I had been doing okay, I was feeling confident that I could run in the front. Not a good idea. Don't change your racing tactics during a race.
I was running in 4th place behind 1st and 2nd who were running a little farther up. I wasn't sure how fast I was going but I was feeling good. Then I crossed the line with two laps to go and realized that I was tired. So incredibly tired. I knew I was in trouble because I immediately fell back and a gap opened up. I tried to close it but my legs just wouldn't move fast. A couple of girls became even with me and I tried to push it. It just wasn't there. The entire lap was like this, my coach knew I was getting slower and he was yelling at me to move up. I was trying so hard but it wasn't working.
The last lap was not good. My racing tactic of a fast lap was gone, all I wanted to do was finish the race. I tried my hardest because I knew that it wasn't going well. I was running as fast as I could but my legs were heavy. With 200m to go, my coach told me to catch some girls that had moved ahead of me so I could score, not like he cares about that anyways. I tried because I didn't want to disappoint him but it wasn't there. With 100m left, all I could do was hope nobody was behind me because I had no more energy.
I crossed the line as someone was saying 5:17, 5:18. I had only cut a second off my time. I'm not sure what place I came in but it didn't really matter. AK came in about 20 seconds after me but that didn't matter either. I felt terrible, not only because I had only improved by a second, been passed by a couple of people, and used bad racing techniques, but I didn't do what my coach told me to do. I had disappointed myself and him, and I'm not sure which was worse.
We ran two laps as a cooldown as my coach watched us from the fence. He made no attempt to talk to us, and judging by my previous experiences with him, he was in a bad mood. I gave him chances to talk to me but I left for home with my dad without talking to my coach. I knew I had disappointed him and I felt bad, my legs had been so tired but I had tried my hardest.
Yesterday, I had an arguement with my mom about whether or not I should go to practice. I had arrived home at 11:00 the night before, had a lot of homework, and was very tired. After a compromise, I agreed to skip practice and make up my Spanish test that I had missed. I felt bad for missing practice, although I realized I needed to. This meant that I had to talk to my coach before school.
I really don't like talking to my coach outside of practices and meets because he sometimes scares me. I was nervous going into his room because all I could think about was the meet the day before. How he reacted though, was different that what I expected. He was in a good mood and told me that I had done a good job at the meet. My coach also compared me to the legend of distance running at my school, which is a huge compliment. He said that I had done a great job running over the winter and that I was the one who improved. That I had done all the hard work and that he was only guiding me along at practices.
This meant so much to me because I knew he meant every word. He doesn't give fake compliments or many compliments at all. I'm not sure how he felt about the meet after I had ran but I think he realized that I was tired and had given it my all. I'm not happy with the meet though, and I want to improve on those results.
1500- 5:18
This was surprising because I thought I was going a lot slower, but I guess I wasn't. It's a PR but it wasn't fun.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
RACE REPORT: THE BIG DOUBLE
I had my third track meet in nine days yesterday. Because one of my teammates was not able to make it, my teammate JS and I were both assigned the biggest and probably the hardest event combination possible. We were going to run both the varsity 3000m and the 1500m. Of course, that made us incredibly not excited for the meet. Some of the best distance running teams in the area were supposed to be there along with the state champion team.
Going into the meet though, it didn't seem that bad. It was supposed to be a beautiful running day- 60 degrees and sunny. I knew the 3000 would only have one heat with about 25 girls in it, which would take a little pressure off me. The track was not in the best shape but it had given me good results before. There was one thing I was worried about however, my coach had talked to JS and I about how whoever did better at doubling up at this meet would probably get the chance to do it again. This was because he was moving another girl down to 800's so we would have a opening for at least one of the 3000 or 1500 spots. To prove myself as the better runner, I would have to finish ahead of JS in both events. I could also beat her in one and finish close behind in another. I hadn't beat JS directly in a race before either. Some of my times this season have beat hers but not when we have raced each other.
Needless to say, I was freaking out a bit, but I thought the meet would go alright. The meet was supposed to begin at 11:00 so I arrived a little before 10:00. The 3000m is the first race so JS and I started warming up at 10:00. The only other people on the track were the other 3000 runners and not many people had arrived yet. We ran four laps as our initial warmup and did some stretching. I didn't have to participate in the team warmup which was nice, but what was not so nice was the bathroom stall's doors which you could see over when standing up. It created a lot of awkward moments but also a lot of laughs. There was also an incident involved a couple of little girls later on which was hilarious.
JS and I ran two more laps around the track before heading over to the starting line to do some more stretching and get ready for the race. At about 10:55, my coach comes over to tell us that he doesn't think the 3000 will be run at 11:00 because they hadn't called to check in yet. We weren't sure what to do so we did a little more stretching. A couple of minutes after 11:00, someone came over the loudspeakers and announced that while the field events are starting now, the running events begin at 12:00.
When they announced this, my prerace schedule was obviously messed up. How much I ate, my warmup and stretching, my preparation for the race was all based on the untrue fact that the race began at 11:00. This made JS and I angry because the little mistake of when the meet started was going to mess up our race. My coach knew this to, and came over to make sure we had heard the announcement. He was angry too, not only because of what it would do to our race, but because we had arrived a whole hour earlier than neccessary. The mistake wasn't his fault, because he only coaches distance, it was our head coach's fault. My coach already does not get along with the head coach because of how he constantly says that we are a team but always overlooks the distance runners. This mixup did not help the relationship. It did seem that most other teams made the same mistake, except the girls from the state champion track team. They really should've announced this before though, when they could see that everyone was warming up too early, so we could've adjusted our warmup earlier.
Since we couldn't just warmup again, we were running the two longest races in the meet afterall, we walked a couple of laps and ran one but I'm not sure it helped. We weren't sure what to do though and I'm not sure the other runners did either.
There were 20-22 girls in the 3000 with only four being JV. Stepping to the starting line, I knew that the top four spots were almost guarenteed to a certain four girls on the same line. The big four were from three different teams and they were all very good. Distance runners all over the state know their names and discuss them in hushed voices when they see them. I was both terrified and honored to be racing them. One of my goals was to make sure they didn't lap me as they were running spectacularly.
Throughout the 3000m, JS and I used our tactic of running together. This helps immensly because although you can ignore the others, you will follow your teammate if they move up. We were using this technique of running together when we passed a girl about halfway through the race. I recognized this girl's name because she is very good in xc which gave me another boost. I also lapped some runners which made me run faster.
With about two laps to go, I was running right in front of JS. I knew that to beat her I was going to have to run even faster so I pushed the pace. With a lap to go, I took off, trying to work on another tactic my coach had talked to us about. He wanted us to have a fast last lap not just the last one hundred meters. We had specifically practiced this on Thursday and I liked the idea of it.
During the last lap of the 3000, I wasn't sure how far behind JS and two other girls were. I didn't want anyone passing me in the last few meters so I went even faster. I finished in 7th place and JS was right behind me in 8th. My coach liked our times but I think he was hoping for a faster race. I had wanted to improve more but I did beat JS. It turned out to only be by a half second which meant that prove myself as better than her, I was going to have to beat her in the 1500m. We couldn't cross the finish line holding hands, as my coach suggested we do in the 3000, I was going to have to be a couple of seconds ahead of her.
I wasn't sure exactly when the 1500 was going to be, but I knew that it was going to be awhile because the meet was going slow. We made sure to eat a lot so we wouldn't get hungry during our race, which had happened slightly because of the delayed 3000m. Our coach advised us on our warmup, just a few laps because we had already did a warmup and cooldown but with lots of stretching. For some reason my legs didn't feel as bad as they usually do after the 3000. I was actually ready to do this. Of course I was nervous because my heat was all varsity and the big four from the 3000m were going to be in my race again.
I received a lane assignment of the inside of lane one. I don't get why I've been getting such bad lanes because it's not by time. We weren't allowed to cut in though until after the straightaway to make sure nobody got cut off. It didn't help that much though once we were off because everyone always cuts each other off, with flying elbows and people getting kicked. After 3/4 lap, when we reached the finish line, I still wasn't in a position that I liked so I had to keep moving up.
Besides JS, there was someone else I really wanted to beat in the race. I met her in middle school although we went to different schools. We've had a sort of friendly rivalry between us and we have both improved this season. With 2.5 laps to go, I was running right beside her, following her every move. My mom told me later that she knew I wasn't going to let her beat me. She was right.
When there was two laps to go, I didn't know how fast I was going or what place I was in. I had noticed though, that I hadn't seen JS throughout the race. It wasn't like I was going to look back but judging by the cheers I knew she wasn't right behind me. I kept moving up, trying to put in a fast lap. I didn't feel the 3000m in my legs but I had to catch more people.
With a lap to go, no more and no less, I started sprinting using the same tactic of a fast last lap. I pushed the pace faster and faster, forgetting all of the miles done earlier in the week. When I came around the last corner there was a girl in orange. As I passed her, I recognized her as the girl who had passed me in the last 100m in the same race on Tuesday. I was not going to let her beat me this time, because she had already gotten her chance to do so earlier in the week. In the last 100m, I recognized one of the girls finishing ahead of me as one of the big four. She is probably the fastest distance runner in my city and I was watching her finish, she was that close. This was simply amazing to me.
During the last 10m of the race, I was passed by a girl. I tried to go faster once this happened but I had nothing left, I had left myself on the track on the previous 11.25 laps. You would think that getting beaten at the line would lessen the good race but it didn't really register. I had finished only three seconds behind a girl whose name is recognized by distance runners all over the state. Of course, she had beaten my by 58 seconds in the 3000m but that was a different race. It astounded me, how her finish was so close to my own.
I placed 6th in the 1500, scoring one point for my team. Besides the big four, the only other person who had beaten me was the girl who had passed me near the line. I had placed in the top third of the varsity runners and beaten JS by three seconds. My coach congratulated both of us and he told me again how much I had improved from last year. He also talked to JS, who was a little upset, and kind of comforted her. He did compliment my finish and told me I just keep getting better at it.
I only did a one lap cooldown and I did it by myself after JS had left. After I left the meet, I realized that I was badly sunburnt. As a redhead, I've had plenty of sunburns and I know what they feel like. I knew during the meet that I was getting sunburnt so I tried to wear a sweatshirt and block the sun , which was only on one side. I didn't want half my face to get burnt and it turns out that I didn't have to worry about that. My whole face is red, as are my ears. The backs of my hands are also burnt which usually doesn't happen, and so are my arms. This would be bad enough, but on my left arm I have a white strip where my watch and LiveSTRONG wristband were at. The red shade hasn't seem to have faded either which would be nice.
I ran the longest two events in the meet and PRed in both but it really doesn't seem as big as it should. I think I need to work on improving in both my events but I'm liking the techniques that I've been using. What I liked about this meet was how I competed in both races, how I compared to the other runners, and how I didn't count on JS to lead us through the race. I learned that I could run too. That although I can run with my teammates, I shouldn't let them dictate how I run my races, because I'm learning how to do it.
3000
Winning- 10:40
JS- 11:46.59 (8th)
Me- 11:46.02 (7th)
The top 5 were all under 11 minutes. Sixth place was 11:41. That's a big gap between them.
1500
Winning- 4:54
JS- 5:22 (8th)
Me- 5:19 (6th)
I just found a website that lists the results of the meet and it listed me as getting 3rd, while ignoring the top three runners in the race. That's fine with me, but they could've spelled my name right while they were at it.
I improved by seven seconds in the 1500 and six seconds in the 3000, which means my 3000m could've been faster. According to my coach's math, I did run the 1500 faster than the 3000. This is somewhat surprising because the 1500 was after the 3000m but the little warmup mixup could've affected it.
Going into the meet though, it didn't seem that bad. It was supposed to be a beautiful running day- 60 degrees and sunny. I knew the 3000 would only have one heat with about 25 girls in it, which would take a little pressure off me. The track was not in the best shape but it had given me good results before. There was one thing I was worried about however, my coach had talked to JS and I about how whoever did better at doubling up at this meet would probably get the chance to do it again. This was because he was moving another girl down to 800's so we would have a opening for at least one of the 3000 or 1500 spots. To prove myself as the better runner, I would have to finish ahead of JS in both events. I could also beat her in one and finish close behind in another. I hadn't beat JS directly in a race before either. Some of my times this season have beat hers but not when we have raced each other.
Needless to say, I was freaking out a bit, but I thought the meet would go alright. The meet was supposed to begin at 11:00 so I arrived a little before 10:00. The 3000m is the first race so JS and I started warming up at 10:00. The only other people on the track were the other 3000 runners and not many people had arrived yet. We ran four laps as our initial warmup and did some stretching. I didn't have to participate in the team warmup which was nice, but what was not so nice was the bathroom stall's doors which you could see over when standing up. It created a lot of awkward moments but also a lot of laughs. There was also an incident involved a couple of little girls later on which was hilarious.
JS and I ran two more laps around the track before heading over to the starting line to do some more stretching and get ready for the race. At about 10:55, my coach comes over to tell us that he doesn't think the 3000 will be run at 11:00 because they hadn't called to check in yet. We weren't sure what to do so we did a little more stretching. A couple of minutes after 11:00, someone came over the loudspeakers and announced that while the field events are starting now, the running events begin at 12:00.
When they announced this, my prerace schedule was obviously messed up. How much I ate, my warmup and stretching, my preparation for the race was all based on the untrue fact that the race began at 11:00. This made JS and I angry because the little mistake of when the meet started was going to mess up our race. My coach knew this to, and came over to make sure we had heard the announcement. He was angry too, not only because of what it would do to our race, but because we had arrived a whole hour earlier than neccessary. The mistake wasn't his fault, because he only coaches distance, it was our head coach's fault. My coach already does not get along with the head coach because of how he constantly says that we are a team but always overlooks the distance runners. This mixup did not help the relationship. It did seem that most other teams made the same mistake, except the girls from the state champion track team. They really should've announced this before though, when they could see that everyone was warming up too early, so we could've adjusted our warmup earlier.
Since we couldn't just warmup again, we were running the two longest races in the meet afterall, we walked a couple of laps and ran one but I'm not sure it helped. We weren't sure what to do though and I'm not sure the other runners did either.
There were 20-22 girls in the 3000 with only four being JV. Stepping to the starting line, I knew that the top four spots were almost guarenteed to a certain four girls on the same line. The big four were from three different teams and they were all very good. Distance runners all over the state know their names and discuss them in hushed voices when they see them. I was both terrified and honored to be racing them. One of my goals was to make sure they didn't lap me as they were running spectacularly.
Throughout the 3000m, JS and I used our tactic of running together. This helps immensly because although you can ignore the others, you will follow your teammate if they move up. We were using this technique of running together when we passed a girl about halfway through the race. I recognized this girl's name because she is very good in xc which gave me another boost. I also lapped some runners which made me run faster.
With about two laps to go, I was running right in front of JS. I knew that to beat her I was going to have to run even faster so I pushed the pace. With a lap to go, I took off, trying to work on another tactic my coach had talked to us about. He wanted us to have a fast last lap not just the last one hundred meters. We had specifically practiced this on Thursday and I liked the idea of it.
During the last lap of the 3000, I wasn't sure how far behind JS and two other girls were. I didn't want anyone passing me in the last few meters so I went even faster. I finished in 7th place and JS was right behind me in 8th. My coach liked our times but I think he was hoping for a faster race. I had wanted to improve more but I did beat JS. It turned out to only be by a half second which meant that prove myself as better than her, I was going to have to beat her in the 1500m. We couldn't cross the finish line holding hands, as my coach suggested we do in the 3000, I was going to have to be a couple of seconds ahead of her.
I wasn't sure exactly when the 1500 was going to be, but I knew that it was going to be awhile because the meet was going slow. We made sure to eat a lot so we wouldn't get hungry during our race, which had happened slightly because of the delayed 3000m. Our coach advised us on our warmup, just a few laps because we had already did a warmup and cooldown but with lots of stretching. For some reason my legs didn't feel as bad as they usually do after the 3000. I was actually ready to do this. Of course I was nervous because my heat was all varsity and the big four from the 3000m were going to be in my race again.
I received a lane assignment of the inside of lane one. I don't get why I've been getting such bad lanes because it's not by time. We weren't allowed to cut in though until after the straightaway to make sure nobody got cut off. It didn't help that much though once we were off because everyone always cuts each other off, with flying elbows and people getting kicked. After 3/4 lap, when we reached the finish line, I still wasn't in a position that I liked so I had to keep moving up.
Besides JS, there was someone else I really wanted to beat in the race. I met her in middle school although we went to different schools. We've had a sort of friendly rivalry between us and we have both improved this season. With 2.5 laps to go, I was running right beside her, following her every move. My mom told me later that she knew I wasn't going to let her beat me. She was right.
When there was two laps to go, I didn't know how fast I was going or what place I was in. I had noticed though, that I hadn't seen JS throughout the race. It wasn't like I was going to look back but judging by the cheers I knew she wasn't right behind me. I kept moving up, trying to put in a fast lap. I didn't feel the 3000m in my legs but I had to catch more people.
With a lap to go, no more and no less, I started sprinting using the same tactic of a fast last lap. I pushed the pace faster and faster, forgetting all of the miles done earlier in the week. When I came around the last corner there was a girl in orange. As I passed her, I recognized her as the girl who had passed me in the last 100m in the same race on Tuesday. I was not going to let her beat me this time, because she had already gotten her chance to do so earlier in the week. In the last 100m, I recognized one of the girls finishing ahead of me as one of the big four. She is probably the fastest distance runner in my city and I was watching her finish, she was that close. This was simply amazing to me.
During the last 10m of the race, I was passed by a girl. I tried to go faster once this happened but I had nothing left, I had left myself on the track on the previous 11.25 laps. You would think that getting beaten at the line would lessen the good race but it didn't really register. I had finished only three seconds behind a girl whose name is recognized by distance runners all over the state. Of course, she had beaten my by 58 seconds in the 3000m but that was a different race. It astounded me, how her finish was so close to my own.
I placed 6th in the 1500, scoring one point for my team. Besides the big four, the only other person who had beaten me was the girl who had passed me near the line. I had placed in the top third of the varsity runners and beaten JS by three seconds. My coach congratulated both of us and he told me again how much I had improved from last year. He also talked to JS, who was a little upset, and kind of comforted her. He did compliment my finish and told me I just keep getting better at it.
I only did a one lap cooldown and I did it by myself after JS had left. After I left the meet, I realized that I was badly sunburnt. As a redhead, I've had plenty of sunburns and I know what they feel like. I knew during the meet that I was getting sunburnt so I tried to wear a sweatshirt and block the sun , which was only on one side. I didn't want half my face to get burnt and it turns out that I didn't have to worry about that. My whole face is red, as are my ears. The backs of my hands are also burnt which usually doesn't happen, and so are my arms. This would be bad enough, but on my left arm I have a white strip where my watch and LiveSTRONG wristband were at. The red shade hasn't seem to have faded either which would be nice.
I ran the longest two events in the meet and PRed in both but it really doesn't seem as big as it should. I think I need to work on improving in both my events but I'm liking the techniques that I've been using. What I liked about this meet was how I competed in both races, how I compared to the other runners, and how I didn't count on JS to lead us through the race. I learned that I could run too. That although I can run with my teammates, I shouldn't let them dictate how I run my races, because I'm learning how to do it.
3000
Winning- 10:40
JS- 11:46.59 (8th)
Me- 11:46.02 (7th)
The top 5 were all under 11 minutes. Sixth place was 11:41. That's a big gap between them.
1500
Winning- 4:54
JS- 5:22 (8th)
Me- 5:19 (6th)
I just found a website that lists the results of the meet and it listed me as getting 3rd, while ignoring the top three runners in the race. That's fine with me, but they could've spelled my name right while they were at it.
I improved by seven seconds in the 1500 and six seconds in the 3000, which means my 3000m could've been faster. According to my coach's math, I did run the 1500 faster than the 3000. This is somewhat surprising because the 1500 was after the 3000m but the little warmup mixup could've affected it.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
RACE REPORT: A FANTASTIC 15
Sometimes there are days when you amaze even yourself. When you finish a race and you don't need anyone else to tell you how good you did, because you know that it was good. You realize that this was part of what you were training for, and that all the pain and harsh conditions was worth it. That these special moments in running are why you keep on going. It's why you run.
On Tuesday, April 7th, our team had a varsity only track meet about a half an hour away. The bus ride passed uneventfully as I tried to do some homework while speeding down the interstate. I wasn't running the 3000, although two of my teammates were (AK and JS). I was instead running the 4x800 and the 1500. It was going to be my first time doubling up on races this year and it wasn't going to be easy due to the temperature. When we arrived, it was in the 40's, so I actually wished I was running the 3000. I knew the sun would be down and it would get colder which meant the 1500 would be really cold.
After running the team warmup and stretching, I talked a bit with JS and AK, who were warming up for the 3000. I was apparently freaking them out because I kept asking them if they were ready. I wasn't sure when the girl's 4x800 would be ran, because it was a coed meet and we didn't have a schedule. Since two of the girls who would be on my 4x800 team were sprinters, I knew that they probably wouldn't do much of a warmup so I did a few laps on my own. It didn't feel that cold out by the time I was stretching so I decided to run my 800 without any underamour or running tights. Besides, the 3000 runners had 7.5 laps to run and they weren't wearing any extra clothing.
I watched the 3000m, cheering on my teammates, but secretly hoping that they wouldn't beat my last time of 11:52 by that much. I wanted them to do well but not too well which is kind of selfish. AK actually ended up beating JS, which is kind of an upset given how fast JS is, but it was only by a second. Final times for them were 12:02 and 12:03.
I both like and dislike the 4x800. I like how it's a warmup for the 1500 but I don't like how it's an all out sprint for two laps. I also don't like that I had to anchor the relay but that was better than being the first runner. The race went okay, when our third runner got the baton we were in last place and she moved us up one spot. Being in the back was okay with me because then it wouldn't be my fault we did so bad and I'd get the credit if we did good. Kind of selfish reasons again but I also had to deal with the fact that the sprinters didn't like that I was anchoring the relay without having run an 800 that year. I ended up passing another person and moving us up in the race. My coach congratulated me on "getting us back into the race" but I only ran 2:40, the same as the first leg and two seconds slower than the third leg. While running the relay though, I concentrate more on the actually racing part rather than what time I may get.
I had more than an hour wait before I began to even warmup for the 1500, so I did a quick cooldown and began to bundle up. With the sun going down, the temperature was going down fast and sitting down doesn't help either. As my teammates ate all kinds of junk food around me (because their races were done, so polite) I put on more and more layers. By the time I finally began my warmup for the 1500m, I was wearing, along with my uniform, running tights and two pairs of pants, an underamour shirt, a short sleeved shirt, two long sleeved shirts, a sweatshirt, my headband, and my gloves. All this and I was still really cold.
I was running the 1500 with my teammate RB, who I haven't ran a race with yet this year. We ran 4 laps around the track and my warmup made me a little worried. My legs were tired from my previous race, and they had cramped up and tightened with the cold. My feet felt frozen and they were a little numb, which made me wonder how I was going to run almost a mile as fast as I could. I also couldn't find my coach, and we were thinking he might have left and no longer was the "nice" coach. I really needed to know where he was at though and since we didn't know what time the race was at, our warmup was really a guess.
I had calmed myself down a little by the beginning of my race. Although the sky was now dark, the cold wasn't bothering me as much. The stadium lights were on which greatly excited me because one of my favorite things about the 1500, is running under the lights. I was just getting relaxed when we heard the final call for the 1500 (the first call we heard) and they were getting ready for the race while I was still tying the shoelaces of my spikes. I didn't even have time to do strides but I did do some stretching.
We were standing on the starting "waterfall" line in the outside lane (lane 7) when I noticed my coach standing outside the fence next to us. He hadn't left although he didn't talk to us before the race either. I wished RB good luck and then we were off.
During the first 100m, in which everyone sprints and cuts each other off (which I'm used to with xc), the one thing I really noticed was that my ears were cold. I was also wondering when we could cut in because I wasn't listening during the directions, but apparently it was immediately because everyone ran sideways into lane one to step in front of each other.
The first 300m is really a sprint and I didn't really settle in until I realized that we only had three laps left. It seemed so short compared to the 3000m. The second lap felt the longest however and with 2.5 laps to go I was talking to myself, telling myself that this was my race, the one I loved so much. That it was under the lights so it was going to be mine.
Running under the lights gives the race a special atmosphere. The crowd tends to disappear and their cheers are almost background noise. It really gets me in my zone and I can focus on just the ponytails of the girls in front of me. It doesn't make running effortless but sometimes my strength does seem to flow. The lights make it a completely different race.
Crossing the line with two laps to go, I realized that I only had an 800m to run, which I had done earlier. The previous lap was hard for me but I had dropped RB and was closing in on a girl ahead of me. When I passed my coach where we had started, he yelled something at me that stuck with me through the entire race. "You are so much faster than you were last year, so go get that girl". The part about the girl was irrelevant, my coach had just given me a huge compliment during a race. I knew that what he said was true, before he even said it, but hearing him say it made it real. Every time I wanted to slow down, I thought of what he had said and knew that I was going to rock this race. Because, afterall, I was so much faster than I was last year.
On the last lap, I tried picking up the pace because I still hadn't caught the girl ahead of me and I knew there was someone coming up behind me. When I passed my coach, he was on the track and had somehow climbed over the 10ft tall fence. He didn't offer me advice but just gave me encouragement. With 250m to go, a girl passed me. I tried hanging on behind her but she was really moving. With less than 100m, she passed the girl ahead of me who was suddenly very close. And then I knew that I had to get that girl, who had been running ahead of me the whole race. She had been passed once and I was going to make it twice. So I picked up my legs and pushed myself faster. There was no crowd and no other runners except myself and that girl racing to the line. With about 5m to the line, I passed her. At the same time I looked at the electronic timer next to the track. I saw the time of 5:25 and sprinted across the line in 7th place.
I had finished within 100m of the leaders and was in the top half of a varsity meet. But most of all, I had broken 5:30. My unwritten and unofficial goal this season was to break 5:30. I had somehow just done that, and I was estastic. My legs were tired and I needed to sit down, but I was good. I had always thought that being under 5:30 would make you good, and now I had done that. With my final time of 5:26, I had PRed by 10 seconds but accomplished so much more than that.
I ran my two lap cooldown alone, with a smile on my face. I was proving to myself, my team, and my coach that I can run. It was incredibly.....awesome.
My coach was waiting for me as I walked to the bleachers. After looking like he was ready to hug me, he told me that I had done a fantastic job and that I had improved so much. He also said that I had done a great job training over the winter and now it was paying off. He gave me a couple of high fives and couldn't keep the grin off his face. But this time, I didn't need him to like the results, although it did make the experience even better. That race was amazing though, and it was why I ran.
4x800 split- 2:40 (should've been faster)
1500- 5:26 (it felt like a sprint the entire race which somewhat explains the very wonderful result)
On Tuesday, April 7th, our team had a varsity only track meet about a half an hour away. The bus ride passed uneventfully as I tried to do some homework while speeding down the interstate. I wasn't running the 3000, although two of my teammates were (AK and JS). I was instead running the 4x800 and the 1500. It was going to be my first time doubling up on races this year and it wasn't going to be easy due to the temperature. When we arrived, it was in the 40's, so I actually wished I was running the 3000. I knew the sun would be down and it would get colder which meant the 1500 would be really cold.
After running the team warmup and stretching, I talked a bit with JS and AK, who were warming up for the 3000. I was apparently freaking them out because I kept asking them if they were ready. I wasn't sure when the girl's 4x800 would be ran, because it was a coed meet and we didn't have a schedule. Since two of the girls who would be on my 4x800 team were sprinters, I knew that they probably wouldn't do much of a warmup so I did a few laps on my own. It didn't feel that cold out by the time I was stretching so I decided to run my 800 without any underamour or running tights. Besides, the 3000 runners had 7.5 laps to run and they weren't wearing any extra clothing.
I watched the 3000m, cheering on my teammates, but secretly hoping that they wouldn't beat my last time of 11:52 by that much. I wanted them to do well but not too well which is kind of selfish. AK actually ended up beating JS, which is kind of an upset given how fast JS is, but it was only by a second. Final times for them were 12:02 and 12:03.
I both like and dislike the 4x800. I like how it's a warmup for the 1500 but I don't like how it's an all out sprint for two laps. I also don't like that I had to anchor the relay but that was better than being the first runner. The race went okay, when our third runner got the baton we were in last place and she moved us up one spot. Being in the back was okay with me because then it wouldn't be my fault we did so bad and I'd get the credit if we did good. Kind of selfish reasons again but I also had to deal with the fact that the sprinters didn't like that I was anchoring the relay without having run an 800 that year. I ended up passing another person and moving us up in the race. My coach congratulated me on "getting us back into the race" but I only ran 2:40, the same as the first leg and two seconds slower than the third leg. While running the relay though, I concentrate more on the actually racing part rather than what time I may get.
I had more than an hour wait before I began to even warmup for the 1500, so I did a quick cooldown and began to bundle up. With the sun going down, the temperature was going down fast and sitting down doesn't help either. As my teammates ate all kinds of junk food around me (because their races were done, so polite) I put on more and more layers. By the time I finally began my warmup for the 1500m, I was wearing, along with my uniform, running tights and two pairs of pants, an underamour shirt, a short sleeved shirt, two long sleeved shirts, a sweatshirt, my headband, and my gloves. All this and I was still really cold.
I was running the 1500 with my teammate RB, who I haven't ran a race with yet this year. We ran 4 laps around the track and my warmup made me a little worried. My legs were tired from my previous race, and they had cramped up and tightened with the cold. My feet felt frozen and they were a little numb, which made me wonder how I was going to run almost a mile as fast as I could. I also couldn't find my coach, and we were thinking he might have left and no longer was the "nice" coach. I really needed to know where he was at though and since we didn't know what time the race was at, our warmup was really a guess.
I had calmed myself down a little by the beginning of my race. Although the sky was now dark, the cold wasn't bothering me as much. The stadium lights were on which greatly excited me because one of my favorite things about the 1500, is running under the lights. I was just getting relaxed when we heard the final call for the 1500 (the first call we heard) and they were getting ready for the race while I was still tying the shoelaces of my spikes. I didn't even have time to do strides but I did do some stretching.
We were standing on the starting "waterfall" line in the outside lane (lane 7) when I noticed my coach standing outside the fence next to us. He hadn't left although he didn't talk to us before the race either. I wished RB good luck and then we were off.
During the first 100m, in which everyone sprints and cuts each other off (which I'm used to with xc), the one thing I really noticed was that my ears were cold. I was also wondering when we could cut in because I wasn't listening during the directions, but apparently it was immediately because everyone ran sideways into lane one to step in front of each other.
The first 300m is really a sprint and I didn't really settle in until I realized that we only had three laps left. It seemed so short compared to the 3000m. The second lap felt the longest however and with 2.5 laps to go I was talking to myself, telling myself that this was my race, the one I loved so much. That it was under the lights so it was going to be mine.
Running under the lights gives the race a special atmosphere. The crowd tends to disappear and their cheers are almost background noise. It really gets me in my zone and I can focus on just the ponytails of the girls in front of me. It doesn't make running effortless but sometimes my strength does seem to flow. The lights make it a completely different race.
Crossing the line with two laps to go, I realized that I only had an 800m to run, which I had done earlier. The previous lap was hard for me but I had dropped RB and was closing in on a girl ahead of me. When I passed my coach where we had started, he yelled something at me that stuck with me through the entire race. "You are so much faster than you were last year, so go get that girl". The part about the girl was irrelevant, my coach had just given me a huge compliment during a race. I knew that what he said was true, before he even said it, but hearing him say it made it real. Every time I wanted to slow down, I thought of what he had said and knew that I was going to rock this race. Because, afterall, I was so much faster than I was last year.
On the last lap, I tried picking up the pace because I still hadn't caught the girl ahead of me and I knew there was someone coming up behind me. When I passed my coach, he was on the track and had somehow climbed over the 10ft tall fence. He didn't offer me advice but just gave me encouragement. With 250m to go, a girl passed me. I tried hanging on behind her but she was really moving. With less than 100m, she passed the girl ahead of me who was suddenly very close. And then I knew that I had to get that girl, who had been running ahead of me the whole race. She had been passed once and I was going to make it twice. So I picked up my legs and pushed myself faster. There was no crowd and no other runners except myself and that girl racing to the line. With about 5m to the line, I passed her. At the same time I looked at the electronic timer next to the track. I saw the time of 5:25 and sprinted across the line in 7th place.
I had finished within 100m of the leaders and was in the top half of a varsity meet. But most of all, I had broken 5:30. My unwritten and unofficial goal this season was to break 5:30. I had somehow just done that, and I was estastic. My legs were tired and I needed to sit down, but I was good. I had always thought that being under 5:30 would make you good, and now I had done that. With my final time of 5:26, I had PRed by 10 seconds but accomplished so much more than that.
I ran my two lap cooldown alone, with a smile on my face. I was proving to myself, my team, and my coach that I can run. It was incredibly.....awesome.
My coach was waiting for me as I walked to the bleachers. After looking like he was ready to hug me, he told me that I had done a fantastic job and that I had improved so much. He also said that I had done a great job training over the winter and now it was paying off. He gave me a couple of high fives and couldn't keep the grin off his face. But this time, I didn't need him to like the results, although it did make the experience even better. That race was amazing though, and it was why I ran.
4x800 split- 2:40 (should've been faster)
1500- 5:26 (it felt like a sprint the entire race which somewhat explains the very wonderful result)
Monday, April 6, 2009
RACE REPORT: BREAKING TWELVE
On Friday April 3rd, I had the honor of running the 3000m at our first outdoor track meet. I've come to terms with the fact that the 3000 is very long compared to every other race, and that I run more than everybody else, in just one race. One good thing about the race though, is that it is the first. This means I get to relax the rest of the meet and eat delicious popcorn because I only have to run one race. It also means that nobody watches it, because it is the first race, and because it is the 3000, and who has the attention span to watch a couple of girls run around the track 7.5 times for over 10 minutes.
We had to be at the track at a ridiculously early time which wasn't a good idea because it was windy, although it was about 50 degrees. During the "team" warmup, my legs were feeling a little tired but okay. After stretching, I held a serious conversation with two of my favorite teammates about running. It was very interesting to hear their views about running but I'll save that for another post.
For our real warmup, I ran a mile with my friend and teammate AK. Besides the usual race nervousness dealing with not only a meet, but it being the first outdoors, and people I know actually being there, I was also nervous about running with her. She's always been faster than me until the beginning of track season this year, and I'm still a little intimidated by her. She looks like a fast runner and has done triathalons before, but she is very nice.
After the warmup and some stretching, we went for our traditional prerace bathroom break. I was waiting for AK outside the bathroom when one of my teammates runs up to me and tells me that they just announced the final call for the 3000. Obviously I freaked out, because it was 4:34 and our race was supposed to begin at 5:00. I still had to get my spikes, do some more stretching, make sure my parents had arrived, check in, find AK, and much more. My coach and teammates were considerably more calm than I or AK was, which helped a lot, because the race was now going to start at 4:45. We didn't officially ever check in for the race, because we couldn't find anybody, but apparently it didn't matter. We also had enough time to get ready because they started it a little later.
I received the right side of lane one for my lane assignment. The only worse position in any race but most of all this race, would be the left side of lane one. In the 3000, you are able to cut in immediately, as long as you don't cut anyone off. So of course, after the race started, I took two steps and was in last place because everyone else just slides in around the corner. That meant, since I was planning on running faster than most of the people ahead of me, that I had to go around a huge group of people in order to make it to the middle pack.
During the race, I ran with pretty much the same 4 or 5 girls. One of them happened to have the same name as me (which usually happens although my name is not that common, it seems to be a runner thing), so it seemed as though everybody was calling my name. Her coach was standing on the side and every time he'd yell at her, he'd say something but usually with her name. While he was saying things, it felt like he was talking to me, so I'd do what he was telling her. It is very motivating to have all these people cheering your name although you don't know half of them.
With about 3.5 laps left, my teammate AK suddenly showed up beside me. She had been running behind me the entire race, and one of my goals was to beat her. This wasn't anything personal, it was just a way of proving to myself that I had improved. She scared me a little though, because she had made of a gap and seemed to be running strong. After a lap though, the two girls I was running with sped up a little, and I stayed directly behind them. AK slipped back a little, because of the faster pace but she had made me more determined to pass these girls.
With two laps left, I knew that I was going to PR. My coach had been yelling at me that I was running a good race, and my watch was confirming that. I still had some running to do however, and I was determined to beat the girls I had been running with, especially the one I shared my name with. With one lap to go, but not a step before the line, I started finishing the race I had began over ten minutes earlier. One girl ahead of me took off even faster and the gap between us quickly grew large. Yet I also took off and I seemingly left the others behind. Sprinting the entire last lap is actually easier when you've done 6.5 laps beforehand.
With half a lap left, I passed a girl who looked like she was struggling. I didn't know this at the time, but I was lapping her. I know I shouldn't enjoy it but because I used to be one of those girls, I do.
I sprinted all out the last 100m although I knew nobody was near me. At the finish line I found out that I had gotten fourth(!) which was awesome. AK finished in fifth, a few seconds behind me. When the person filling out my results on a card was asking me to spell my name though, I couldn't believe it. I had just run a PR 3000m and they were asking me to spell out my name. So I did it the only way I could, two breaths, a letter, and repeat.
My coach congratulated us afterwards and told us our times. He was really proud of both of us, because we had improved so much and we had double scored. After cheering on my fellow distance runners in the 4x800 and having an interesting discussion about clouds, I began my cooldown. During this, an announcer came on the speaker and welcomed everyone to the meet. He talked about a police officer in our city who had been severely injured and named all the teams. Then the national anthem was sung and the meet officially began. Officially began after two races had been run. And I know they were boring and long distance races that nobody watches anyways. This was why my race started early, because the meet officially began at 5:00. I've gotten used to being overlooked, I run cross country which is as overlooked as you can get in high school sports, but this still really bothered me. It was like our races didn't count or something.
I did well at the meet and I enjoyed it although I had to leave early because I had my ACT test the next day. My coach seemed to be happy with us and sometimes that's really all that matters.
Time: 11:52 (PR and improvement by 28 seconds)
Place: 4th
We had to be at the track at a ridiculously early time which wasn't a good idea because it was windy, although it was about 50 degrees. During the "team" warmup, my legs were feeling a little tired but okay. After stretching, I held a serious conversation with two of my favorite teammates about running. It was very interesting to hear their views about running but I'll save that for another post.
For our real warmup, I ran a mile with my friend and teammate AK. Besides the usual race nervousness dealing with not only a meet, but it being the first outdoors, and people I know actually being there, I was also nervous about running with her. She's always been faster than me until the beginning of track season this year, and I'm still a little intimidated by her. She looks like a fast runner and has done triathalons before, but she is very nice.
After the warmup and some stretching, we went for our traditional prerace bathroom break. I was waiting for AK outside the bathroom when one of my teammates runs up to me and tells me that they just announced the final call for the 3000. Obviously I freaked out, because it was 4:34 and our race was supposed to begin at 5:00. I still had to get my spikes, do some more stretching, make sure my parents had arrived, check in, find AK, and much more. My coach and teammates were considerably more calm than I or AK was, which helped a lot, because the race was now going to start at 4:45. We didn't officially ever check in for the race, because we couldn't find anybody, but apparently it didn't matter. We also had enough time to get ready because they started it a little later.
I received the right side of lane one for my lane assignment. The only worse position in any race but most of all this race, would be the left side of lane one. In the 3000, you are able to cut in immediately, as long as you don't cut anyone off. So of course, after the race started, I took two steps and was in last place because everyone else just slides in around the corner. That meant, since I was planning on running faster than most of the people ahead of me, that I had to go around a huge group of people in order to make it to the middle pack.
During the race, I ran with pretty much the same 4 or 5 girls. One of them happened to have the same name as me (which usually happens although my name is not that common, it seems to be a runner thing), so it seemed as though everybody was calling my name. Her coach was standing on the side and every time he'd yell at her, he'd say something but usually with her name. While he was saying things, it felt like he was talking to me, so I'd do what he was telling her. It is very motivating to have all these people cheering your name although you don't know half of them.
With about 3.5 laps left, my teammate AK suddenly showed up beside me. She had been running behind me the entire race, and one of my goals was to beat her. This wasn't anything personal, it was just a way of proving to myself that I had improved. She scared me a little though, because she had made of a gap and seemed to be running strong. After a lap though, the two girls I was running with sped up a little, and I stayed directly behind them. AK slipped back a little, because of the faster pace but she had made me more determined to pass these girls.
With two laps left, I knew that I was going to PR. My coach had been yelling at me that I was running a good race, and my watch was confirming that. I still had some running to do however, and I was determined to beat the girls I had been running with, especially the one I shared my name with. With one lap to go, but not a step before the line, I started finishing the race I had began over ten minutes earlier. One girl ahead of me took off even faster and the gap between us quickly grew large. Yet I also took off and I seemingly left the others behind. Sprinting the entire last lap is actually easier when you've done 6.5 laps beforehand.
With half a lap left, I passed a girl who looked like she was struggling. I didn't know this at the time, but I was lapping her. I know I shouldn't enjoy it but because I used to be one of those girls, I do.
I sprinted all out the last 100m although I knew nobody was near me. At the finish line I found out that I had gotten fourth(!) which was awesome. AK finished in fifth, a few seconds behind me. When the person filling out my results on a card was asking me to spell my name though, I couldn't believe it. I had just run a PR 3000m and they were asking me to spell out my name. So I did it the only way I could, two breaths, a letter, and repeat.
My coach congratulated us afterwards and told us our times. He was really proud of both of us, because we had improved so much and we had double scored. After cheering on my fellow distance runners in the 4x800 and having an interesting discussion about clouds, I began my cooldown. During this, an announcer came on the speaker and welcomed everyone to the meet. He talked about a police officer in our city who had been severely injured and named all the teams. Then the national anthem was sung and the meet officially began. Officially began after two races had been run. And I know they were boring and long distance races that nobody watches anyways. This was why my race started early, because the meet officially began at 5:00. I've gotten used to being overlooked, I run cross country which is as overlooked as you can get in high school sports, but this still really bothered me. It was like our races didn't count or something.
I did well at the meet and I enjoyed it although I had to leave early because I had my ACT test the next day. My coach seemed to be happy with us and sometimes that's really all that matters.
Time: 11:52 (PR and improvement by 28 seconds)
Place: 4th
Saturday, April 4, 2009
THE RONDE
I'll keep this short and sweet because I have a long race report to write.
On April 5, I'll share my birthday with one of the greatest cycling races, the Ronde van Vlaanderen. It's my birthday tomorrow, and one of the greatest presents would be if George Hincapie won the Tour of Flanders. He's one of my favorite riders, not because he wins races, but because he works so hard. A win for him would be epic. And since the Ronde is on my birthday, that would be even cooler. I know it's not likely, with Heinrich Haussler, Pozzato, Flecha, and Boonen there, but I can still hope. I'm not sure I can get up that early to watch the race, wherever it is online. Although, I might make an exception because it is one of the greatest race, or I could just watch it on Versus and avoid the internet for most of the day. I am going to watch the race though because it is going to be so incredibly awesome.
On April 5, I'll share my birthday with one of the greatest cycling races, the Ronde van Vlaanderen. It's my birthday tomorrow, and one of the greatest presents would be if George Hincapie won the Tour of Flanders. He's one of my favorite riders, not because he wins races, but because he works so hard. A win for him would be epic. And since the Ronde is on my birthday, that would be even cooler. I know it's not likely, with Heinrich Haussler, Pozzato, Flecha, and Boonen there, but I can still hope. I'm not sure I can get up that early to watch the race, wherever it is online. Although, I might make an exception because it is one of the greatest race, or I could just watch it on Versus and avoid the internet for most of the day. I am going to watch the race though because it is going to be so incredibly awesome.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
VALIDATION
My dad sent me this video about a week ago. It's a little weird at first but it makes you smile. Enjoy.
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