Gerald Green Invitational @ Waukegan

After a lightning-thunder-rain-wind-hail delay of over an hour, we finally raced in some great weather today.  The sun was out, the wind was calm, and the Bees really stepped up to the plate.  The 4X800 kicked it off with a tremendous effort from all four women:  Jazzman set a lifetime PR of 2:39 as lead-leg and put us in the lead of the race. Halie ran a season PR of 2:44 and regained the lead in the final stretch, looking focused and strong after running negative splits.  Ana matched her lifetime PR of 2:37 and helped to grow the lead and Joseline ran a season PR of 2:46 to help keep our lead, running a solid last 200 of her race.  Thanks to the collective efforts of the relay, we posted a season best of 10:51--a huge PR over Monday's time of 11:03.  Way to go, ladies!

In the 3200, Lindsay was the lone ZB, but she earned us a 1st place!  Taking the lead in the first lap, Lindsay looked confident and determined.  Although two Waukegan girls were breathing down her neck for the entire race, Lindsay's focus remained unshaken.  In the gun lap, Lindsay made a move on the back stretch in order to start gapping the Waukegan runners.  With 200 meters to go, it looked like one of the Waukegan girls might come back, but Lindsay gave another burst in order to maintain first place, finishing in a season best of 13:56.  It was great to see Lindsay's race fiestiness back, and equally great to see a 1st place medal around her neck. :)

In an attempt to avoid any more storms, the meet manager kept the events rolling quickly to the 800 meter run.  At the gun, Liana looked strong, while Joseline and Halie looked not-fully-recovered from their first efforts of the day in the 4X800.  Liana had a great first split and kicked hard in the final 100 meters to set a new lifetime PR of 2:44!  I look forward to watching this freshie continue to improve this season!

In the 1600 meter run, three bees had the opportunity to race:  Mary, Karolina and Jocelyn.  Mary took the lead early in the first lap, and didn't look back.  With a goal of breaking 6:00, Mary looked strong throughout the race; she seemed to need the push of some competition, though, because her final time was a respectable 6:03.  I know that once her Wednesday's 400s workout kicks in, she will definitely smash that 6:00 barrier.  Karolina and Jocelyn also had outstanding starts, working with the main pack of runners in order to reach their goals.  The third lap seemed to challenge each bee, but they also both came back with strong finishes for the final lap.  Karolina finished in a season best of 6:25, only seconds away from her race goal, and Jocelyn finished in 6:44, a lifetime PR!  Excellent work, ladies!

Overall, this meet provided some good data to guide our workouts for our upcoming raceless week.  I look forward to seeing everyone race at Stevenson with Warren for some great competition on the 21st.  :)