I might only have one cross country practice left. I might also have more than a week of practice left. Either way, I don't have that many practices left. But this has only intensified my feelings for the sport. It has made me love it even more.
I complain a lot about cross country. I complain about how no one else in our school cares, how no one comes to our meets to support us, how almost no one knows our school has a cross country team, or even knows what cross country is. I complain about how we have one of the smallest sports teams in the school and how no one pays attention to us. But really, I don't think I'd want it any other way. I love how cross country is its only little sport. I love how hardly anyone goes out for cross country, because it means that the majority of the people of the team really care about the sport. I wouldn't even want a large team because I love how it's just us. I love how the rest of the school thinks we are amazing superhumans because they don't really know anything about cross country. I love how other sports teams both look down and look up to us. I even love when people ask me why I participate in the sport, although it kind of bothers me. It's like they are both confused and impressed with us.
I love being able to do one of the things I love best with people who are some of my best friends. I love how I know all these personal things about my teammates but I barely talk to them in school. Before and after a race, people share all kinds of things they'd tell no one else, even though its their true selves. I love the races, seeing the colorful, long lines of people stretched out across the fields. I love cheering my teammates on, and cheering other people on, just because they run cross country. I love riding the bus after meets and laughing with my teammates. I love hearing people cheer for me. I love how we congratulate each other after the race and how you don't have to win to do your best. I love how we run in all kinds of weather and just deal with it. I love how it is just one race but also many races. I love how it is an individual yet team sport. How everyone counts on you but you count on everyone.
I love practices. I even look forward to most of them. I love the track workouts, the long runs, the tempo runs, and everything else. I love running around the lake, knowing that I can do anything because I am a cross country runner. I love seeing the creepers on the trail and speeding up as you pass them. I love getting out of the way of bikes and dogs. I love looking down the trail at the yellow dashed lines painted on the asphalt as the sun shines above. I love running with the leaves crunching under my feet. I love losing what feels like gallons of sweat while knowing the person next to you might be sweating even more. I love running in the rain, looking at each other knowing that both of you are going to jump into the puddles to splash each other. I love how you can act like a 5 year old on rainy runs. I love knowing you are almost done with your run but I also love when you know that you are just beginning.
I love knowing that I'm not the only one who has a whole wardrobe of running shirts. I love that I can easily convert miles to kilometers or meters and calculate any kind of split. I love knowing that my teammates will be there for me no matter what. I love knowing that my running shoes and socks might smell but I'm not the only one. I love being able to wring the water and sweat out of my clothes after practice. I love how this sports gives back even more than the great amount you put into it. I love how it changes you and makes you into yourself.
I love looking off into the distance, hearing the steady beat of my feet hitting the ground, knowing that I am a cross country runner. I love having this place to belong. I love cross country. Even more than I thought I could.
Showing posts with label practice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label practice. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Thursday, September 10, 2009
BELIEVE
On Monday, we ran hard and fast at practice. I gained a lot of my confidence back. We did 5 800's with 200m running rest in between. I finished 200m ahead of the people behind me and lapped almost everybody not on varsity. I wanted to show everyone that I can run fast. So I did.
My coach later asked me about Saturday's meet when I was done. We agreed that it was just a bad day. The most important thing he said was that he wasn't scared. He believes in me. And now I'm starting to do the same.
My coach later asked me about Saturday's meet when I was done. We agreed that it was just a bad day. The most important thing he said was that he wasn't scared. He believes in me. And now I'm starting to do the same.
Monday, August 31, 2009
ANOTHER LAST OF THE FIRSTS
My last first cross country meet. Of all the things that I will miss from high school, cross country is one of the greatest. I love cross country. My coach asked me during my first year of xc after a meet which seemed perfect, whether I liked track or xc better. I told him xc was growing on me but I liked track better because I liked running under the lights during the 1500. But then I fell in love with cross country. I love everything about it, the races, the practices, how everyone cheers everyone on, running through big crowds, running with no crowds, even the way no one else seems to care about the sport. I have even started loving what before I didn't enjoy.
In one of the few practices I went to during the two weeks we had practice before school started (I had to work), our team went to Vito's. Vito's is a restaurant up the street from my school so we actually run on the field next to it. It is flat for about 100m then turns left uphill with a path flanked by trees on each side. We usually run 200's there, done in 4 sets, with a minute rest between the first 200's, then 45 seconds, 30 seconds, and 15 seconds. It is also the site of one of the top three worst practices, when we ran 28 200's, 4 sets of 7, and didn't have the usual 3 minutes rest between sets. We usually only do 20 200's plus it was about 90 degrees that day. We were doing the 28 200's with the rest, in cooler weather, when we went to Vito's that day. I was turning the corner around a tree, in the middle of our workout, to the flatter part, when I realized something unusual. I was having fun. And then I told myself I couldn't be, we were at Vito's and doing a sprint workout. A combination that I very much dislike. But it was true. I was having fun. I was hitting my times (48 seconds) throughout the workout but that wasn't the only reason I was enjoying myself. It was a whole comination of things, racing others, running in the grass, running with my teammates, knowing I was one of the strongest, knowing I was the reason I was one of the strongest, knowing my coach was proud of me, knowing that I won't always get to run at Vito's, knowing that this is my last year of cross country and I'd better enjoy it. And I was.
I love cross country, even the little things. When running to our home course at Noelridge Park, so we could run the actual course, it was hotter than it had been. But then I told myself that this was cross country weather. And it didn't feel so hot or so hard. I didn't want to complain, I wanted to take it all in. So as I ran the course that day, I enjoyed it. I remembered everything that had taken place there, each different spot that we ran past that held a memory.
Last Thursday, we ran to Noelridge to do a pretty hard workout in the heat, after a few days of rain that were a lot of fun to run in. We were doing 4 minutes of hard running and 1 minute easy, 6 times, around part of the course, including a slight uphill. It was hard, it mostly sucked, and I was getting tired. One of my teammates was running with me for awhile but I really wanted to finish the workout in front on my own. And on the 5th one, I refound my legs. And it just so happened that a middle school cross country team was there running along a trail, which part of our path intersected. They were only running about a mile, so they were going a little faster than us. But when I came to a point where I was running with one of the middle school boys, I couldn't help it. I started racing him. I was near the end of my hard workout, with almost 20 minutes of fast running in, after a long and difficult week. But I raced him because it was fun. The kid probably thought it was weird that a girl at least four years older than him was doing this but it's not like he slowed down either. I just wanted to race, to have a little fun. I didn't think anyone had seen me, but when I had finished, my coach told me how awesome it was when I took that kid on.
For my last first cross country meet, I have two main goals. It is not a time, I'm not even sure how fast I can go. It is not beating specific people, although I would like to do so. They have nothing to do with anyone else. The first, is that I want to enjoy it. When it feels good and when it hurts, in the good moments and the bad, I want to take it in. I want to remember it all. I want to love it. My second goal, is to leave nothing. I am going to try my hardest out there, no matter how I am doing during the race. I will give my all. Because this is my sport. My favorite sport. I'm going to miss it. Because I love it.
In one of the few practices I went to during the two weeks we had practice before school started (I had to work), our team went to Vito's. Vito's is a restaurant up the street from my school so we actually run on the field next to it. It is flat for about 100m then turns left uphill with a path flanked by trees on each side. We usually run 200's there, done in 4 sets, with a minute rest between the first 200's, then 45 seconds, 30 seconds, and 15 seconds. It is also the site of one of the top three worst practices, when we ran 28 200's, 4 sets of 7, and didn't have the usual 3 minutes rest between sets. We usually only do 20 200's plus it was about 90 degrees that day. We were doing the 28 200's with the rest, in cooler weather, when we went to Vito's that day. I was turning the corner around a tree, in the middle of our workout, to the flatter part, when I realized something unusual. I was having fun. And then I told myself I couldn't be, we were at Vito's and doing a sprint workout. A combination that I very much dislike. But it was true. I was having fun. I was hitting my times (48 seconds) throughout the workout but that wasn't the only reason I was enjoying myself. It was a whole comination of things, racing others, running in the grass, running with my teammates, knowing I was one of the strongest, knowing I was the reason I was one of the strongest, knowing my coach was proud of me, knowing that I won't always get to run at Vito's, knowing that this is my last year of cross country and I'd better enjoy it. And I was.
I love cross country, even the little things. When running to our home course at Noelridge Park, so we could run the actual course, it was hotter than it had been. But then I told myself that this was cross country weather. And it didn't feel so hot or so hard. I didn't want to complain, I wanted to take it all in. So as I ran the course that day, I enjoyed it. I remembered everything that had taken place there, each different spot that we ran past that held a memory.
Last Thursday, we ran to Noelridge to do a pretty hard workout in the heat, after a few days of rain that were a lot of fun to run in. We were doing 4 minutes of hard running and 1 minute easy, 6 times, around part of the course, including a slight uphill. It was hard, it mostly sucked, and I was getting tired. One of my teammates was running with me for awhile but I really wanted to finish the workout in front on my own. And on the 5th one, I refound my legs. And it just so happened that a middle school cross country team was there running along a trail, which part of our path intersected. They were only running about a mile, so they were going a little faster than us. But when I came to a point where I was running with one of the middle school boys, I couldn't help it. I started racing him. I was near the end of my hard workout, with almost 20 minutes of fast running in, after a long and difficult week. But I raced him because it was fun. The kid probably thought it was weird that a girl at least four years older than him was doing this but it's not like he slowed down either. I just wanted to race, to have a little fun. I didn't think anyone had seen me, but when I had finished, my coach told me how awesome it was when I took that kid on.
For my last first cross country meet, I have two main goals. It is not a time, I'm not even sure how fast I can go. It is not beating specific people, although I would like to do so. They have nothing to do with anyone else. The first, is that I want to enjoy it. When it feels good and when it hurts, in the good moments and the bad, I want to take it in. I want to remember it all. I want to love it. My second goal, is to leave nothing. I am going to try my hardest out there, no matter how I am doing during the race. I will give my all. Because this is my sport. My favorite sport. I'm going to miss it. Because I love it.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
PLATEAU
Even with all the training I have been doing, I've hit a plateau. My 3000m times have not decreased since I ran 11:46 on April 11. They've actually been increasing with 11:50 and 11:53. My coach thinks I can run an 11:30, but I'm not sure about that. He says I need competition, people running those times instead of the large gaps that there has been. It's hard to believe him though when whatever I'm doing doesn't seem to be working.
What's most frustrating however, is not my 3000m. It's the 1500, my favorite race. The last four times I've ran in the race- 5:23, 5:18, 5:18, 5:19. I need to improve in this race if I want to go anywhere with it. My coach keeps telling me that a big drop in time follows a plateau but with Friday's meet, it doesn't seem like it. Comparing that meet with the one on April 11, in which I ran the same races, I've gotten slower in both events. I don't know what to do about it but I want to do something. And it's not like there isn't anyone else in my races who aren't running those times, if I would have run a 5:18 on Friday, the crazy finish wouldn't have been a problem. I feel like I can get my times down except I'm too tired from practices. We haven't even been doing that much in practices though so I'm not sure. I don't like complaining about my times that much either, before this season I would've been estastic to be running like this. I just really want to get better and improve, but I don't know how.
What's most frustrating however, is not my 3000m. It's the 1500, my favorite race. The last four times I've ran in the race- 5:23, 5:18, 5:18, 5:19. I need to improve in this race if I want to go anywhere with it. My coach keeps telling me that a big drop in time follows a plateau but with Friday's meet, it doesn't seem like it. Comparing that meet with the one on April 11, in which I ran the same races, I've gotten slower in both events. I don't know what to do about it but I want to do something. And it's not like there isn't anyone else in my races who aren't running those times, if I would have run a 5:18 on Friday, the crazy finish wouldn't have been a problem. I feel like I can get my times down except I'm too tired from practices. We haven't even been doing that much in practices though so I'm not sure. I don't like complaining about my times that much either, before this season I would've been estastic to be running like this. I just really want to get better and improve, but I don't know how.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
WHY DISTANCE?
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.
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.
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.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
ANOTHER PR
Today I flew.
On my 6 mile run there was nobody to push me because some of my teammates weren't able to come to practice. So I had to push myself. I probably should've taken an easy day but my first mile was in 7:34. I fell into my rhythm and hit the halfway mark in 22:29 which is on pace for 45 minutes. My legs made me feel like I was just cruising along and had given me no idea of how fast I was going. Once I figured out that I only had to run 7:50 miles on the way back to get under 46 minutes and that I had the possibility of getting around 45 minutes, which had seemed like my new unreachable number.
My feet felt like they were barely touching the ground in the second half. They were getting a bit tired but my legs felt good. My nose was dripping all over which created a small problem but when I passed some of the girls up a hill on the way back, I forgot about it. I did something uncharacteristic of me, I ran the second half faster in 22:02.
That gives me a time of 44:31. My teammate told me that I had been a beast on my run and I'm inclined to agree. My coach told me I shouldn't have tried to PR but sometimes you don't get the option of choosing. Yes, it was probably stupid and my legs will start to hurt but I had to do it. Sometimes you have to fly.
By the way, my new 6 mile PR is almost 2 minutes less than the previous one. This was also run only a few days after a race, which makes it even better.
On my 6 mile run there was nobody to push me because some of my teammates weren't able to come to practice. So I had to push myself. I probably should've taken an easy day but my first mile was in 7:34. I fell into my rhythm and hit the halfway mark in 22:29 which is on pace for 45 minutes. My legs made me feel like I was just cruising along and had given me no idea of how fast I was going. Once I figured out that I only had to run 7:50 miles on the way back to get under 46 minutes and that I had the possibility of getting around 45 minutes, which had seemed like my new unreachable number.
My feet felt like they were barely touching the ground in the second half. They were getting a bit tired but my legs felt good. My nose was dripping all over which created a small problem but when I passed some of the girls up a hill on the way back, I forgot about it. I did something uncharacteristic of me, I ran the second half faster in 22:02.
That gives me a time of 44:31. My teammate told me that I had been a beast on my run and I'm inclined to agree. My coach told me I shouldn't have tried to PR but sometimes you don't get the option of choosing. Yes, it was probably stupid and my legs will start to hurt but I had to do it. Sometimes you have to fly.
By the way, my new 6 mile PR is almost 2 minutes less than the previous one. This was also run only a few days after a race, which makes it even better.
SHOWING OFF
Yesterday, in track practice, my calves hurt. A lot. But not as much as they have before. Which is good.
Most of the boy's and girl's team was doing this pacer test which involved running back and forth across the gym and making it to the line before the beeps which speeded up. My coach gave JS and I the option of running the pacer test or jogging around the gym because we had run about twice as much as everybody else. Guess which one we chose.
Jogging around a gym is even less exciting then you might think, which we realized after a minute or two. We were watching everyone else do the test and we agreed that most of the team, both boys and girls, completely sucked. The top girl made it to level six with 18 more to run before she dropped out. And many of the boys, although I think it was their second time so I'll give them some slack, were terrible. It didn't even look that hard and nobody seemed to be going that fast which made me think that maybe we should try it.
While we were discussing how badly in shape everyone was, our legs were loosening up and feeling better. JS brought up the idea which I had been thinking about, why don't we try to do the pacer test? I told her we should show everyone how to do it and so we jumped in for the second start.
Needless to say, we dominated. Neither JS or I had even discussed the possibility of not finishing the test and we weren't about to give each other the honor of being the final girl. We both ended up being the only girls to finish the pacer test (eight levels and 70 straights altogether) although it was a little harder then it looked. Towards the end, when I could feel Tuesday's race in my legs, we still didn't know how many levels there was altogether. I was hoping there was only a few left and it was confirmed by one of the distance guys that was running next to us (who finished every time) who told us that we were almost done. And thankfully we were, so we got the priviledge of being one of the few to finish.
Our coach didn't say much after that but he was smiling so I think he was glad we decided to run it. He did tell us later that we couldn't do another (although I kind of wanted to do another) but I think he also wanted us to run it at least once to prove something to the sprinters. Which brought up the reason why we ran it in the first place. It should've been an easy day and we didn't have to do it. We chose to do it.
I think the main reason, although there was more than one, is that we wanted to show off. JS and I love racing and the only thing better than racing people you don't know, is racing (and beating) people you do know. We wanted to show that at least some of the girls were good and prove to those same girls that we were better.
It's also because we wanted to race the boys. Ever since I was a little kid, I have loved racing boys because they get so upset when a girl beats them. They still do. JS and I were just as excited to beat them now then when we did years ago. And considering how many of them didn't finish at least one (although some finished them all which I'll give them credit for), we were showing them that yes, there are girls that can still beat them. One of our purposes was to impress both track teams which I think we might've achieved judging by the compliments we later received.
Most of the boy's and girl's team was doing this pacer test which involved running back and forth across the gym and making it to the line before the beeps which speeded up. My coach gave JS and I the option of running the pacer test or jogging around the gym because we had run about twice as much as everybody else. Guess which one we chose.
Jogging around a gym is even less exciting then you might think, which we realized after a minute or two. We were watching everyone else do the test and we agreed that most of the team, both boys and girls, completely sucked. The top girl made it to level six with 18 more to run before she dropped out. And many of the boys, although I think it was their second time so I'll give them some slack, were terrible. It didn't even look that hard and nobody seemed to be going that fast which made me think that maybe we should try it.
While we were discussing how badly in shape everyone was, our legs were loosening up and feeling better. JS brought up the idea which I had been thinking about, why don't we try to do the pacer test? I told her we should show everyone how to do it and so we jumped in for the second start.
Needless to say, we dominated. Neither JS or I had even discussed the possibility of not finishing the test and we weren't about to give each other the honor of being the final girl. We both ended up being the only girls to finish the pacer test (eight levels and 70 straights altogether) although it was a little harder then it looked. Towards the end, when I could feel Tuesday's race in my legs, we still didn't know how many levels there was altogether. I was hoping there was only a few left and it was confirmed by one of the distance guys that was running next to us (who finished every time) who told us that we were almost done. And thankfully we were, so we got the priviledge of being one of the few to finish.
Our coach didn't say much after that but he was smiling so I think he was glad we decided to run it. He did tell us later that we couldn't do another (although I kind of wanted to do another) but I think he also wanted us to run it at least once to prove something to the sprinters. Which brought up the reason why we ran it in the first place. It should've been an easy day and we didn't have to do it. We chose to do it.
I think the main reason, although there was more than one, is that we wanted to show off. JS and I love racing and the only thing better than racing people you don't know, is racing (and beating) people you do know. We wanted to show that at least some of the girls were good and prove to those same girls that we were better.
It's also because we wanted to race the boys. Ever since I was a little kid, I have loved racing boys because they get so upset when a girl beats them. They still do. JS and I were just as excited to beat them now then when we did years ago. And considering how many of them didn't finish at least one (although some finished them all which I'll give them credit for), we were showing them that yes, there are girls that can still beat them. One of our purposes was to impress both track teams which I think we might've achieved judging by the compliments we later received.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
TOUCHING THE FLOOR
It has been over 2 weeks since I have last posted but in my defense, I have been busy. It started with the week before finals and all the projects that came with it and then the week of finals consists of studying. Plus, I've been having difficulties thinking up topics to write about because my running has been going pretty nicely. Of course, that changed on Friday.
We were given a day off a school and because of our conflicting schedules, our newly nice coach decided to let us run on our own. In retrospect, this was a bad decision. We had a track workout consisting of 16 200's at 45 seconds with varying breaks on Thursday but I thought a 5 mile tempo run on Friday sounded good.
It was beautiful on Friday with temperatures above 50 degrees. This motivated me although I was running by myself. The first half I was struggling with a fast pace, my legs felt good but my stomach didn't. It felt like I was running on empty, but I wasn't. Looking back, I was probably partly dehydrated because I was just getting used to the temperatures. On the way back, I was forced to take two walking breaks before I found my rhythm again.
I was moving steadily, although a bit slowly, when I tripped on the sidewalk about a half mile from my school. I'm still not sure what exactly happened; I know I wasn't watching my feet so I might've been looking back at the traffic to find a place to cross the street or I might've been concentrating on my form. All I do know is that suddenly I was on the ground and had literally rolled into a dirt pile. My first thought was "what the heck just happened?" before standing up and looking around to make sure there were few witnesses to my lapse in gracefullness.
I then assessed my injuries and determined that although my palms were burning, they were only scraped and that the dirt caked to my shirt would come off. The focus of my attention was then on my right leg which had received some road rash. There was a big spot near my knee that was bleeding but my leg didn't hurt until twenty minutes later when it became extremely painful. The rest of me seemed okay so after a walking break where I regained my composure, I ran back so I could get my miles in.
Luckily, I had brought water with me so I could wash my palms and leg off. When I began driving home, I noticed that my right elbow was scraped up, similar to a teammate who tripped and fell on Thursday after coming into contact with a sprinter in lane one. The majority of my injuries was on my leg however, but it didn't look as bad when I cleaned it off.
On Saturday though, I found that both my hips were bruised, with my right one being the worst. I am no longer able to put pressure on my right side or cross my legs. Even an accidental touch to my bruise is painful. And I am sick. A runny nose combined with a shortage of Kleenex and a sore throat does not bode well for my first indoor track meet of the year on Tuesday. I have taken the rainy weekend off however, to rest up and heal in order to be in prime shape for my meet. Hopefully, it will work and I will be feeling better so I can show off what my training has achieved.
We were given a day off a school and because of our conflicting schedules, our newly nice coach decided to let us run on our own. In retrospect, this was a bad decision. We had a track workout consisting of 16 200's at 45 seconds with varying breaks on Thursday but I thought a 5 mile tempo run on Friday sounded good.
It was beautiful on Friday with temperatures above 50 degrees. This motivated me although I was running by myself. The first half I was struggling with a fast pace, my legs felt good but my stomach didn't. It felt like I was running on empty, but I wasn't. Looking back, I was probably partly dehydrated because I was just getting used to the temperatures. On the way back, I was forced to take two walking breaks before I found my rhythm again.
I was moving steadily, although a bit slowly, when I tripped on the sidewalk about a half mile from my school. I'm still not sure what exactly happened; I know I wasn't watching my feet so I might've been looking back at the traffic to find a place to cross the street or I might've been concentrating on my form. All I do know is that suddenly I was on the ground and had literally rolled into a dirt pile. My first thought was "what the heck just happened?" before standing up and looking around to make sure there were few witnesses to my lapse in gracefullness.
I then assessed my injuries and determined that although my palms were burning, they were only scraped and that the dirt caked to my shirt would come off. The focus of my attention was then on my right leg which had received some road rash. There was a big spot near my knee that was bleeding but my leg didn't hurt until twenty minutes later when it became extremely painful. The rest of me seemed okay so after a walking break where I regained my composure, I ran back so I could get my miles in.
Luckily, I had brought water with me so I could wash my palms and leg off. When I began driving home, I noticed that my right elbow was scraped up, similar to a teammate who tripped and fell on Thursday after coming into contact with a sprinter in lane one. The majority of my injuries was on my leg however, but it didn't look as bad when I cleaned it off.
On Saturday though, I found that both my hips were bruised, with my right one being the worst. I am no longer able to put pressure on my right side or cross my legs. Even an accidental touch to my bruise is painful. And I am sick. A runny nose combined with a shortage of Kleenex and a sore throat does not bode well for my first indoor track meet of the year on Tuesday. I have taken the rainy weekend off however, to rest up and heal in order to be in prime shape for my meet. Hopefully, it will work and I will be feeling better so I can show off what my training has achieved.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
FOUR MILES
On my first real high school track practice I ran 4 miles. Having not trained over the winter, I had also not run over 2 miles consecutively. That run was terrible. I had to walk some of the way and I couldn't believe we still had a week of practice left. I thought of that as a long run but it turns out it wasn't. It took me over 40 minutes and I was exhausted at the end. I had no idea how I was ever going to get through track.
On Thursday I ran 4 miles. I set a new PR in 30:34 even though it felt like I was struggling. My legs didn't feel too bad though with only 16 miles ran so far this week. Besides the PR, there was one more thing that made this run special. The lead runner was me. My faster teammate wasn't there but I would've been able to keep up with her like I have most of the week. With or without her though, I was in the front. I've been in the front before but never by myself. I was running at a faster pace then everybody else on my team. This time, I was the one everyone tried to catch. This fact was not lost on me, as evident by the random smiles on my face. I felt like I had truly made it. I was flying in front. I was the leader of the run.
I didn't realize until I was stretching afterwards that I had run the same exact route when I first started. My running has changed so much since then, and not only in my endurance. I now look the part of a runner and I am good friends with many of my teammates. I now understand that these miles are neccessary for me to succeed. I love running more than ever. I have run miles and miles since that first practice and have worked hard to get where I am now. It hasn't been easy but on Thursday, when I was in the front, I knew it was all worth it.
On Thursday I ran 4 miles. I set a new PR in 30:34 even though it felt like I was struggling. My legs didn't feel too bad though with only 16 miles ran so far this week. Besides the PR, there was one more thing that made this run special. The lead runner was me. My faster teammate wasn't there but I would've been able to keep up with her like I have most of the week. With or without her though, I was in the front. I've been in the front before but never by myself. I was running at a faster pace then everybody else on my team. This time, I was the one everyone tried to catch. This fact was not lost on me, as evident by the random smiles on my face. I felt like I had truly made it. I was flying in front. I was the leader of the run.
I didn't realize until I was stretching afterwards that I had run the same exact route when I first started. My running has changed so much since then, and not only in my endurance. I now look the part of a runner and I am good friends with many of my teammates. I now understand that these miles are neccessary for me to succeed. I love running more than ever. I have run miles and miles since that first practice and have worked hard to get where I am now. It hasn't been easy but on Thursday, when I was in the front, I knew it was all worth it.
Friday, February 20, 2009
SOARING, FLYING
Earlier today, I set a new PR, breaking the one set on Tuesday. Including this week, I have run 6 miles under 50 minutes three separate times. Two of those runs came this week.
September 22, 2008- 48:17
February 17, 2009- 47:11
February 20, 2009- 46:26
The strangest thing about my run was that I didn't feel like I was going that fast. My legs have been tired so I just wanted a long, slow easy run. I set out to do my own pace and not race with my faster teammate or my coach. I just wanted to get some recovery miles in. During the first half, it felt like I was doing a pretty good job of that. My teammate was ahead of me but still in sight while my coach was behind me. I was feeling good but more of a relaxing run good. Then I reached the halfway point. My watch read 23:11. Tuesday's PR mark at that spot- 24:00.
My initial reaction was to make sure my watch was still going and that I didn't bump any of the buttons. Once I was assured of this, I just thought to myself how awesome it was that my "slow" run was on track to be a PR. I didn't speed up, well maybe a little. I just made sure my teammate didn't get too far ahead and kept going. I did race up the last .75 mile stretch to make sure I got my time but I didn't go fast enough to feel like I needed to stop. I checked my watch once I was done and there was that wonderful number. 46:26 which is a 7:45 minute pace.
I found my teammate after I finished and checked to see what her time was to make sure I hadn't messed my watch up. She said it was 45:something which meant my time was for real. I had really gone that fast. I told her that I didn't believe I went that fast and she responded by saying "Yeah, we were really flying out there".
I'm still in disbelief about my time though. I believe I can run that fast but I didn't feel like I was today. Slow recovery runs aren't supposed to go that fast. It was supposed to be around 50 minutes but I was so much speedier. The biggest thing is that this was after four days of running fast. I'm not complaining though, I'd like these days to come more often.
September 22, 2008- 48:17
February 17, 2009- 47:11
February 20, 2009- 46:26
The strangest thing about my run was that I didn't feel like I was going that fast. My legs have been tired so I just wanted a long, slow easy run. I set out to do my own pace and not race with my faster teammate or my coach. I just wanted to get some recovery miles in. During the first half, it felt like I was doing a pretty good job of that. My teammate was ahead of me but still in sight while my coach was behind me. I was feeling good but more of a relaxing run good. Then I reached the halfway point. My watch read 23:11. Tuesday's PR mark at that spot- 24:00.
My initial reaction was to make sure my watch was still going and that I didn't bump any of the buttons. Once I was assured of this, I just thought to myself how awesome it was that my "slow" run was on track to be a PR. I didn't speed up, well maybe a little. I just made sure my teammate didn't get too far ahead and kept going. I did race up the last .75 mile stretch to make sure I got my time but I didn't go fast enough to feel like I needed to stop. I checked my watch once I was done and there was that wonderful number. 46:26 which is a 7:45 minute pace.
I found my teammate after I finished and checked to see what her time was to make sure I hadn't messed my watch up. She said it was 45:something which meant my time was for real. I had really gone that fast. I told her that I didn't believe I went that fast and she responded by saying "Yeah, we were really flying out there".
I'm still in disbelief about my time though. I believe I can run that fast but I didn't feel like I was today. Slow recovery runs aren't supposed to go that fast. It was supposed to be around 50 minutes but I was so much speedier. The biggest thing is that this was after four days of running fast. I'm not complaining though, I'd like these days to come more often.
Friday, December 12, 2008
THE OVERLOOKED SPORT
I am willing to overlook the lack of people at our xc meets and the lack of support we get at school. I ignore the fact that there is almost no one running xc and that there are more girl's bowlers than xc runners. I, usually, deal with the fact that not many people care about my sport. Sometimes it gets to be a little too much.
At the pep assembly today, which are important for that fact that they eliminate 10 minutes off of each class, the AD started to announce "the achievements of the fall sports teams". He talks about how wonderful the football team is, girl's swimming, golf, volleyball......I thought they'd stick xc in the middle since we didn't go to state but at this point I realized we'd be at the end. Except then he talks about how our school received the sportsmanship trophy because of football and volleyball (what an honor). The football team didn't even officially get to state. They even talked about the dance team more than us. I don't even consider that a sport and I've taken 12 years of dance. Maybe if the routines were more advance than ones I could do 4 years ago it could graduate to a sport level.
Apparently the xc team didn't achieve anything in our season. Sure, we weren't super amazing, but we didn't place last at our meets. We put more time and effort into our sport than probably most of the other sports. Nobody else woke up at 6 in the summer to run before it got to be 90 degrees. They didn't practice in thunderstorms or with lightning flashing over them. They didn't run up hills that have been described as "giant" or that are popular for sledding. Other sports might practice when it is hot out, but they have something called drink breaks. We don't have those in xc.
At practice in August one day, we had to run for 42 minutes with more than 30 minutes of that sprinting, around a track in about 90 degree weather. There was two big gatorade coolers sitting by the football field that allowed the players to get drinks. I had to pass those coolers every single lap and imagine how wonderful a drink would feel. For 42 minutes without shade I looked at those coolers that held ice cold liquid. So when the football player who had just gotten a drink out of a hose cut in front of me on the track and said "I wish we could have practices like that, all they do is jog", I lost respect for other sports. We had been running for more than 20 minutes before he started his practice and there's no way he could've RUN our practice.
During the summer I would sometimes have to run at 9:00 at night so it would get down to 85 degrees. I went through countless amounts of ice throughout the season to make sure I could stumble through practice the next day. I ran a meet where I actually had to numb my leg with ice before hand so I could run. I put up with terrible repetitive sprint practices at Vito's, where I refuse to eat because those practices have ruined it for me.
True, there are fun parts or else nobody would join xc. But to overlook us in achieving something is not fair. I achieved so much in xc this season. I ran 10 miles. I PRed in basically every distance and can run 5 miles with under an 8 minute pace. I ran 7 miles in under an hour, when last season it took me 10 minutes longer. I PRed in my xc race by almost 30 seconds for a time of 16:24. I achieved something in xc. My team achieved something this season. Apparently no one cares.
At the pep assembly today, which are important for that fact that they eliminate 10 minutes off of each class, the AD started to announce "the achievements of the fall sports teams". He talks about how wonderful the football team is, girl's swimming, golf, volleyball......I thought they'd stick xc in the middle since we didn't go to state but at this point I realized we'd be at the end. Except then he talks about how our school received the sportsmanship trophy because of football and volleyball (what an honor). The football team didn't even officially get to state. They even talked about the dance team more than us. I don't even consider that a sport and I've taken 12 years of dance. Maybe if the routines were more advance than ones I could do 4 years ago it could graduate to a sport level.
Apparently the xc team didn't achieve anything in our season. Sure, we weren't super amazing, but we didn't place last at our meets. We put more time and effort into our sport than probably most of the other sports. Nobody else woke up at 6 in the summer to run before it got to be 90 degrees. They didn't practice in thunderstorms or with lightning flashing over them. They didn't run up hills that have been described as "giant" or that are popular for sledding. Other sports might practice when it is hot out, but they have something called drink breaks. We don't have those in xc.
At practice in August one day, we had to run for 42 minutes with more than 30 minutes of that sprinting, around a track in about 90 degree weather. There was two big gatorade coolers sitting by the football field that allowed the players to get drinks. I had to pass those coolers every single lap and imagine how wonderful a drink would feel. For 42 minutes without shade I looked at those coolers that held ice cold liquid. So when the football player who had just gotten a drink out of a hose cut in front of me on the track and said "I wish we could have practices like that, all they do is jog", I lost respect for other sports. We had been running for more than 20 minutes before he started his practice and there's no way he could've RUN our practice.
During the summer I would sometimes have to run at 9:00 at night so it would get down to 85 degrees. I went through countless amounts of ice throughout the season to make sure I could stumble through practice the next day. I ran a meet where I actually had to numb my leg with ice before hand so I could run. I put up with terrible repetitive sprint practices at Vito's, where I refuse to eat because those practices have ruined it for me.
True, there are fun parts or else nobody would join xc. But to overlook us in achieving something is not fair. I achieved so much in xc this season. I ran 10 miles. I PRed in basically every distance and can run 5 miles with under an 8 minute pace. I ran 7 miles in under an hour, when last season it took me 10 minutes longer. I PRed in my xc race by almost 30 seconds for a time of 16:24. I achieved something in xc. My team achieved something this season. Apparently no one cares.
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