"Even the wrong words seem to rhyme." ~"Collide" by Howie Day
My last first cross country meet. My last high school cross country season is officially beginning. So this was the meet where I wanted to do something special. Something that would make me smile. I wanted to show everyone how fast I could run after working so hard to get that fast. Something good.
This was the last time I will run at the place my first ever meet took place. The meet where it was over 95 degrees without the heat index and four people were taken to the hospital. The meet where a kid next to our camp was being given oxygen, there were four or five ambulances, and multiple fire trucks and police cars. The place that welcomed me to cross country.
I was nervous all day, as I usually am so I couldn't concentrate at school. I wasn't freaking out as I thought I would, but most of what I thought about had to do with the meet. My legs were feeling pretty good but I was still a little nervous. The first meet is always different because it's the first meet. This is when we find out exactly how fast everyone is. Who can run what. Not just on other teams, but in your own team. I wanted to be the fastest from my school. I'd like my teammates to be fast, especially AK and JS because their my best friends on the team, but I want to be faster. I wanted to make my coach proud. I wanted to make myself proud. I wanted to run a race that would make my last first meet a good one. So this wasn't just any race.
I got lost twice going to the school where the meet was being held. I was driving myself and it's not like I know that area well. I usually am good with directions so it might have been me being nervous. I ended up getting there a couple minutes before 4:35, when we were going to warm up. I was running at 5:35, in the middle of the meet. The weather was actually okay, only about 70 degrees; sunny with blue skies and white fluffy clouds.
We ran and walked one lap of the course. Two laps makes it the full 4k, including a hill that you go up twice each lap, and part of the track that is where you finish. It's not a bad course, just one that sucks in the heat because there's no shade. There is a steep and short little hill in one place that is short enough to sprint up but steep enough to hurt your legs. The other hill isn't that bad, it's just a matter of getting up it.
As we watched the fresh/soph race finish, I began getting very nervous. Two of the freshmen, who were supposed to run around 18:00, both ran under 17:00. My coach told me, AK, and JS that we should run around 17:00. I would have to run under 17:00 just to beat the freshmen. The pressure was on.
Our race started five minutes late because the fresh/soph boys race started late. My legs were feeling pretty good but I was still a little nervous. Before I walked over to the starting line to do strides with my teammates, my coach came over and high fived me. He told me that he thought I could run 16:20. I'm not sure he knew that my PR was 16:24. It gave me a little extra confidence though. After he said this to me, I turned around and started walking again. Then he said, wait, one more thing. He told me to have fun. He is definately not the kind of coach to say that. At all. But when he said that to me, he meant it. It made me remember what I was doing out there in the first place. To have fun.
We were in box three, on the right side. And I was ready. The first race of the season. My last first cross country race. And so the race started.
It's only about 200m before you hit the main hill so everyone is bunched up and elbowing each other. I ran along the outside, in the longer grass, with AK so we could pass people. Going down the hill, I passed AK and kept moving up. My legs wanted to race. And so I kept going.
There's a part of the course that loops around a soccer field. There was a sign by the field that said "this is not a practice field". I'm not sure why it was there but it reminded me that this was not practice. This was a meet. And that I needed to impress some people, to prove something.
Around that same field, after the short steep hill that takes the course next to the road, there wasn't really anyone there. It was quiet, with the only sounds being everyone's ragged breathing and feet hitting the ground. It becomes a different kind of race, but one that I love all the same. It seems more real, like a true race. Truly one person against another and against themselves.
After going back up and down the main hill, I hit the crowds. My first mile was done somewhere around 6:18. Doing the math, I figured that was around 16:00. I became worried that I started out too fast. But my coach was just telling me to move up. So I made my way around the track and started lap two. My last lap around the course.
Lap two began while running through crowds. It's always loud and you can't really understand what anyone is yelling, but it's still awesome. The people were lined up all the way to the hill. But there was someone standing at the bottom of the hill cheering me on that made me smile, like all the freshmen did during their races when we cheered them on (one girl actually posed and gave us a peace sign, but we won't talk too much about that). One of the fastest, if not the fastest, distance runner that went to my school. She graduated about four years ago, but she comes back to practices sometimes or shows up at our meets. She is the distance legend at my school and she was cheering me on at the bottom of the hill during my last first cross country race. That made me smile. And then I ran on.
After going down the hill and crossing a ditch, my legs didn't seem to have as much of that fast feeling. Which made sense, because I was running really fast. And because I could see about five members of the team who won the meet last year (and scored 22 points, only one more than the lowest possible) ahead of me. I was getting tired by the time I ran up the short steep hill. But my coach was yelling at me that I was having an awesome race. So I was going to finish it awesomely.
As I ran up the hill on the course for the last time, my legs were tired. They hurt. But I was almost done. And I wasn't going to give up. So when after coming down the hill, a girl passed me and seemed to be going much stronger, I did not let her just pass me. I hung on to her, fighting every single step. I knew there were people close behind me, people that wanted to beat me. As I hit the track for the last 100m, running around that curve for the last time in cross country, I ran. Fast. The girl was ahead of me and going to beat me, but that didn't mean I was going to let anyone pass me. So with 50m left, after leaving it all on the course, having spent all my energy multiple times, I found something. I was not going to let someone pass me. And no one did. And when I looked down at my watch after crossing the finish line, it said 16:11. 16:11. Which would be a PR for me. At the first race of the season.
My principal congratulated me as I went to get water by the fence around the track. I stood there by myself, waiting for my teammates, my coach, my family. I congratulated my teammates, gave my coach a high five, and talked to my family. It felt good after those minutes of agony, as JS describes our races.
During our cooldown, I said goodbye to the course. When I looked over the course, on top of the hill, it made me miss it. Girls in all different colored uniforms were strung out all over, in a brightly colored line. It was beautiful. It was cross country.
I ran 16:10 in the first race of the season. In my last first cross country meet. That's a PR. I took 14th place so I also received a ribbon. I made myself proud. I also made my family and coach proud. I actually did it. I don't know how. Well I do, because I ran fast. I gave my all and did my best. And I did better than I thought I could. I did something to make myself proud.
Showing posts with label meet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label meet. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Saturday, May 2, 2009
RACE REPORT: OH NO SHE DIDN'T
Yesterday's track meet experience began with discrimination against track athletes. Meaning we rode a school bus for two hours. I was out of comfortable positions after fifty minutes. And we were on the school bus for two whole hours. Why don't I play any sports that receive attention?
During this two hour bus ride (and this was only on the way there) we had to stop in some town in the middle of nowhere because one of the sprinters (this wouldn't have happened with any of the distance runners) had to go to the bathroom. Yes she is pretty fast sprinter but we were about half an hour away and she was only one girl. This made me very angry because I wanted to get off the bus as soon as I could.
When we actually arrived at the meet, it was windy and in the upper 50's. It was a coed varsity meet with teams we don't usually compete against. We were only there about five minutes before I began warming up with my teammate AK for the 3000m. I wasn't feeling good about my races but I had managed to change my attitude about the 3000. Because the teams were smaller, I thought I might have a chance to place. My legs were very tired though and I was having to do the big double, the 3000 and the 1500. For some reason my coach put me in these events, probably because I didn't tell him I was so tired. I was running well earlier in the week but our Wednesday practice really tired me out. I wasn't feeling ready at all and wasn't sure how I would do.
We spent about 10 minutes in line for the bathroom although it would've been longer if a couple of girls hadn't taken over the men's restroom for awhile. After our wonderful wait, we did some stretching. I paid close attention to my right calf and shin which have been feeling a little weird. The adrenaline must've been working though because they didn't hurt during my race. We did some strides which I usually try to avoid and then we were ready to go.
My goal for the race was 92 seconds per lap or 11:30. My coach thought I could do it as long as we didn't start out too fast. I thought I could improve this week and was ready to race as we stood on the line. My teammate and I ran the first lap around 86 seconds, a little fast but we were in the back. My coach just reassured us and sure enough, we were moving up. AK and I were using our tactic of running together except she was behind me, something I still haven't gotten used to. I thought we were going a little too slow but my coach wasn't saying much about it.
The 3000m seems like a very long race and it is, but it goes by quicker than you would think when you are running it. That's what it seemed like with two laps to go, when I was around 8:51, almost 10 seconds slower than I have been at the same point. This really disappointed me. I wasn't going to get 11:30 and I knew I probably wouldn't improve. My legs might've been moving just as fast, but my attitude changed when those numbers were called out. My motivation was now based on not disappointing my coach further and not letting my teammate, who was running behind me, or the girl in red beside me, beat me. I guess this isn't entirely true, because I was running in 3rd place (first two girls were way ahead of us) but I didn't have a good attitude about it.
With a lap to go, the three of us were still together. About 15m across the line, the girl in red made a big mistake. She cut me off. That's acceptable on the first lap when we are all trying to get into position, but not on the last lap. She was running beside me and then all of a sudden she's in front of me and I'm slowing down so I don't get tripped. I couldn't believe she cut me off, it made my incredibly mad. And that's where she made her mistake. Because I told myself that whatever I did, I was going to beat her. She cut me off but she wasn't going to be ahead of me at the finish line.
I immediately sped up after the little incident and moved in front of her. The rest of the lap was full of mature racing tactics with us changing places several times and probably cutting each other off. She came around the last corner ahead of me but with 100m to go, we were almost right beside each other (I had no idea of where AK was throughout this). Then we had a little probably at 50m from the line. There were two girls, about to be lapped, running in the middle of lane one and the inside of lane two. The girl in red beside me would go to the right and I knew that if I followed her, she would beat me. On the left of the track was the long jump and was paved but there were some ropes separating it. I could go to the left instead, going outside of the white line but not into the grass. I wasn't sure I could squeeze through without knocking something over or pushing the lapped girl so I didn't know what to do.
I went left and crossed the line less than a second ahead of the girl in red. With a time of 11:53, I took 3rd, while AK had 11:58 in fifth. While we stood in line waiting to turn in our place cards, I refused to congratulate the girl in red because I was still very mad. As she told me good job, I wanted to tell her that because she cut me off, she was standing behind me. Instead, I told her the same and walked away from her quickly.
My coach congratulated us and afterwards we watching JS run a 2:32 split in the 4x800. This made me a little worried because she was feeling good and I wasn't, and I didn't want her to beat me in the 1500m, which we were running together. As AK and I did a one lap cooldown, my legs were feeling tired, and I just wanted to sit and eat. This is not a good attitude going into a race but the meet just didn't seem to be going good. And I still had another race to run, one I wanted to well in.
3000
3rd- 11:53
There's more to come.....
During this two hour bus ride (and this was only on the way there) we had to stop in some town in the middle of nowhere because one of the sprinters (this wouldn't have happened with any of the distance runners) had to go to the bathroom. Yes she is pretty fast sprinter but we were about half an hour away and she was only one girl. This made me very angry because I wanted to get off the bus as soon as I could.
When we actually arrived at the meet, it was windy and in the upper 50's. It was a coed varsity meet with teams we don't usually compete against. We were only there about five minutes before I began warming up with my teammate AK for the 3000m. I wasn't feeling good about my races but I had managed to change my attitude about the 3000. Because the teams were smaller, I thought I might have a chance to place. My legs were very tired though and I was having to do the big double, the 3000 and the 1500. For some reason my coach put me in these events, probably because I didn't tell him I was so tired. I was running well earlier in the week but our Wednesday practice really tired me out. I wasn't feeling ready at all and wasn't sure how I would do.
We spent about 10 minutes in line for the bathroom although it would've been longer if a couple of girls hadn't taken over the men's restroom for awhile. After our wonderful wait, we did some stretching. I paid close attention to my right calf and shin which have been feeling a little weird. The adrenaline must've been working though because they didn't hurt during my race. We did some strides which I usually try to avoid and then we were ready to go.
My goal for the race was 92 seconds per lap or 11:30. My coach thought I could do it as long as we didn't start out too fast. I thought I could improve this week and was ready to race as we stood on the line. My teammate and I ran the first lap around 86 seconds, a little fast but we were in the back. My coach just reassured us and sure enough, we were moving up. AK and I were using our tactic of running together except she was behind me, something I still haven't gotten used to. I thought we were going a little too slow but my coach wasn't saying much about it.
The 3000m seems like a very long race and it is, but it goes by quicker than you would think when you are running it. That's what it seemed like with two laps to go, when I was around 8:51, almost 10 seconds slower than I have been at the same point. This really disappointed me. I wasn't going to get 11:30 and I knew I probably wouldn't improve. My legs might've been moving just as fast, but my attitude changed when those numbers were called out. My motivation was now based on not disappointing my coach further and not letting my teammate, who was running behind me, or the girl in red beside me, beat me. I guess this isn't entirely true, because I was running in 3rd place (first two girls were way ahead of us) but I didn't have a good attitude about it.
With a lap to go, the three of us were still together. About 15m across the line, the girl in red made a big mistake. She cut me off. That's acceptable on the first lap when we are all trying to get into position, but not on the last lap. She was running beside me and then all of a sudden she's in front of me and I'm slowing down so I don't get tripped. I couldn't believe she cut me off, it made my incredibly mad. And that's where she made her mistake. Because I told myself that whatever I did, I was going to beat her. She cut me off but she wasn't going to be ahead of me at the finish line.
I immediately sped up after the little incident and moved in front of her. The rest of the lap was full of mature racing tactics with us changing places several times and probably cutting each other off. She came around the last corner ahead of me but with 100m to go, we were almost right beside each other (I had no idea of where AK was throughout this). Then we had a little probably at 50m from the line. There were two girls, about to be lapped, running in the middle of lane one and the inside of lane two. The girl in red beside me would go to the right and I knew that if I followed her, she would beat me. On the left of the track was the long jump and was paved but there were some ropes separating it. I could go to the left instead, going outside of the white line but not into the grass. I wasn't sure I could squeeze through without knocking something over or pushing the lapped girl so I didn't know what to do.
I went left and crossed the line less than a second ahead of the girl in red. With a time of 11:53, I took 3rd, while AK had 11:58 in fifth. While we stood in line waiting to turn in our place cards, I refused to congratulate the girl in red because I was still very mad. As she told me good job, I wanted to tell her that because she cut me off, she was standing behind me. Instead, I told her the same and walked away from her quickly.
My coach congratulated us and afterwards we watching JS run a 2:32 split in the 4x800. This made me a little worried because she was feeling good and I wasn't, and I didn't want her to beat me in the 1500m, which we were running together. As AK and I did a one lap cooldown, my legs were feeling tired, and I just wanted to sit and eat. This is not a good attitude going into a race but the meet just didn't seem to be going good. And I still had another race to run, one I wanted to well in.
3000
3rd- 11:53
There's more to come.....
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 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.
Monday, March 23, 2009
RACE REPORT: THE DOME
So I didn't exactly write a race report for last Monday's track meet. I kept putting it off and now it doesn't make sense to write a full length post analyzing my results. I do however, wish to explain a little about it and why the meet was a mess.
It was 70 degrees outside so of course this would be an indoor meet. It was at the the dome which looks cool to run in but really isn't because the air is very dry.
I was supposed to run the 4x800 and the 1500. Two of my three teammates that were supposed to run in my relay, were sick and didn't come to the meet. This included JS who was also supposed to be in my 1500. Unless they took someone out of another 4x800 I would not get to run the relay. I decided to just run the 1500 because I was worried about how the dry air would affect my running. I was also worried about my 1500 because JS usually paces us. She somehow runs exact or negative splits and I've grown used to her always being there. Running with a teammate is always easier because they motivate you to run harder than you normally would.
I ran my race at around 7:35, more than 4 hours after we had arrived. The wait was terrible and I had lost some of my adrenaline. That, combined with everything else, made it worse. During the race, many of the coaches stood at the same spot so I couldn't hear my coach yelling my splits. All I could hear was people trying to yell over each other which didn't work at all. I didn't know how fast I was going and just adjusted my pace by how I felt. My rhythm just wasn't there either. I was passed right at the line by a girl I had passed a little before in the race. I could feel her coming up behind me but I just couldn't get the energy I needed. I know the strength was there but I just couldn't pick up the pace.
My coach predicted I would run 5:36. When he added up my splits after the race, he found that I had run 5:36. He was pretty proud of himself that he had guessed correctly but he also said that I was going in the right direction. This was a PR by 6 seconds but I think I can do even better, especially once I can get my rhythm going in a race.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
NOT EASY
"It doesn't get easier, you just go faster." -Greg Lemond
(My race report from yesterday's meet is in the process of being typed but this post is about today's run. And how it completely sucked.)
I've always liked that Greg Lemond quote and now I have an excuse to use it. My run backs up the claim he made.
Many of the distance girls have been sick including my fast teammate JS who was also gone for the meet. One of the girls (RB) was back though and she was running on fresher legs than I was. We were told to do 6 miles so I decided to go about 8 minute pace as long as I could beat RB. My legs didn't feel too tired which was surprising and it was really nice out, almost 75 degrees in March. It was a little too warm for a nice run so the weather had some effect on me. It was also St. Patrick's Day which, because I am a redhead and Irish, should have given me extra strength to run with.
The first mile was in 7:52 which was good. RB was a little behind me which was also good. My legs began to get more tired throughout the run but I was at the halfway mark at 23:27. RB was running about 20ft behind me and I wasn't sure how she felt. I knew I shouldn't have been racing her, but I really wanted to beat her, as I usually did, not only because I'm competitive but to show my coach that I was continuing my improvement.
After I turned back, my legs became exhausted. I was fighting every step and not concentrating on my form, which is evident by my almost tripping (again) on a piece of the trail. I couldn't dwell on my embarrassing moment because I was having trouble just moving forward. The urge to walk was strong but I knew I couldn't no matter how hard it became because I had come beyond the giving up hope and walking thing, and RB was closing the gap. I refused to look at my watch until I got to 1.5 left (35:35) but even then I could feel my remaining energy leaving. My legs had become numb, I could hardly lift them up and so it became a step at a time.
The 6th mile was hard. I had passed a few of the 5 mile girls but because I refused to look back, I wasn't sure how far behind RB was (for some reason this still mattered). Running up a hill with about a half mile to go, a sprinter was running the opposite way and passing me, smiling and telling me I was doing a good job. As nice as this was, I felt like smacking her and screaming. I was going as fast as I could yet it felt like I was barely moving. My legs were so very tired and my good form had been gone miles ago.
I reached the parking lot of my school ready to fall to the ground. A quick glance showed me that I had actually increased my gap but I still sprinted, slowly, the last few feet. As soon as I came to the grass, I flopped to the ground and sat, which felt very nice. When my coach asked me how it went, I told him that it was terrible. He seemed genuinely concerned but I had no reason for why it was so hard. My meet shouldn't have had that much effect but neither should the heat. My run just incredibly sucked.
My time for 6 miles was 48:22. The last 3 miles were done in 24:55, more than a minute slower than the first half. I don't have an explanation for why it was so hard, but it was. I may have gotten a lot faster but it's still not easy.
(My race report from yesterday's meet is in the process of being typed but this post is about today's run. And how it completely sucked.)
I've always liked that Greg Lemond quote and now I have an excuse to use it. My run backs up the claim he made.
Many of the distance girls have been sick including my fast teammate JS who was also gone for the meet. One of the girls (RB) was back though and she was running on fresher legs than I was. We were told to do 6 miles so I decided to go about 8 minute pace as long as I could beat RB. My legs didn't feel too tired which was surprising and it was really nice out, almost 75 degrees in March. It was a little too warm for a nice run so the weather had some effect on me. It was also St. Patrick's Day which, because I am a redhead and Irish, should have given me extra strength to run with.
The first mile was in 7:52 which was good. RB was a little behind me which was also good. My legs began to get more tired throughout the run but I was at the halfway mark at 23:27. RB was running about 20ft behind me and I wasn't sure how she felt. I knew I shouldn't have been racing her, but I really wanted to beat her, as I usually did, not only because I'm competitive but to show my coach that I was continuing my improvement.
After I turned back, my legs became exhausted. I was fighting every step and not concentrating on my form, which is evident by my almost tripping (again) on a piece of the trail. I couldn't dwell on my embarrassing moment because I was having trouble just moving forward. The urge to walk was strong but I knew I couldn't no matter how hard it became because I had come beyond the giving up hope and walking thing, and RB was closing the gap. I refused to look at my watch until I got to 1.5 left (35:35) but even then I could feel my remaining energy leaving. My legs had become numb, I could hardly lift them up and so it became a step at a time.
The 6th mile was hard. I had passed a few of the 5 mile girls but because I refused to look back, I wasn't sure how far behind RB was (for some reason this still mattered). Running up a hill with about a half mile to go, a sprinter was running the opposite way and passing me, smiling and telling me I was doing a good job. As nice as this was, I felt like smacking her and screaming. I was going as fast as I could yet it felt like I was barely moving. My legs were so very tired and my good form had been gone miles ago.
I reached the parking lot of my school ready to fall to the ground. A quick glance showed me that I had actually increased my gap but I still sprinted, slowly, the last few feet. As soon as I came to the grass, I flopped to the ground and sat, which felt very nice. When my coach asked me how it went, I told him that it was terrible. He seemed genuinely concerned but I had no reason for why it was so hard. My meet shouldn't have had that much effect but neither should the heat. My run just incredibly sucked.
My time for 6 miles was 48:22. The last 3 miles were done in 24:55, more than a minute slower than the first half. I don't have an explanation for why it was so hard, but it was. I may have gotten a lot faster but it's still not easy.
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