Saturday @ Grant Regional:
I am a stat nerd. I love looking at Athletic.net because I can track growth, remind myself of races of the past, and now (thanks to a cool "simulate" feature), I can see how we rank against future competition based on everyone's season best time. But here is the problem with that function--it assumes everyone is going to have an A+ performance on the same day. According to Athletic.net, we were seeded 3rd in the Regional, comfortably qualifying ot the next week. But this isn't my first rodeo; I saw that the point differential between 3rd and 7th was only 20 points. That's nothing in a stressful qualifier race. So I kept that simulation stat to myself all week and just let you shine. The Monday long run was glorious in the fall colors of Beulah Woods. The Tuesday workout was so impressive, with you all shining like the stars that you are in a difficult, unpredictable repeat session followed by a mile time trial. And what great timing to have some time back after testing on Wednesday? A chance to just run on your own and relax. Thursday and Friday felt light and fun and pancake-filled (Thanks, Tolliver!). And even on Saturday morning--the energy felt good! You were chill on the bus and enjoyed the pretty trees as we got close to the course, so I didn't want to make too much of trying to get through as a team because I wanted you all to run light. But I could see after the warm up that you guys were nervous. I don't think I have ever seen shoes get re-tied so many times in my life! And as I always say: It's ok to be nervous; it is normal and means that you care. But I didn't want you to run tight or talk yourselves out of what you are capable of. When the gun sounded, I watched you all dart up the hill for the first of three times, then headed to the 800 mark when you emerge from the woods. We were in solid position, but I was concerned about the looks on everyone's faces. We were not in the race like we had been the weeks before. I sprinted across the field and up the hill to catch everyone after the mile. Things still felt "off." At this point, I could see that Alivia was not having an "A" day, and I encouraged our veterans to pick up the slack while reminding Liv to BREATHE. Waiting for the team to emerge from the woods was like torture. By the two mile, Fia had stepped into our second slot, eating up competition, while Lauren was still holding her own in our first spot. I could see that she was struggling, though, and I encouraged her to fight for her girls! Rach still looked like she could push for the last mile, as did Brionne. Our hills looked great, but I could see that Alivia was in trouble. She was pale, and I could see that she was probably hyperventilating a bit, which makes running feel awful. To her freshie credit, she kept scrapping, keeping her head up and fighting. I kept repeating that we HAD to catch people in the woods for the final time. As I sprinted to that 300ish to go mark, I could see that we were not in good shape coming out of the woods. Other teams seemed to have made moves while we were going backwards. At this point, I was in full freak-out mode. I was yelling at anyone who would listen that we needed to catch people in the last bit. Lauren fought to the end, staying strong for her team even though she did not feel great at all, while Rachel had a rebirth in the last mile, picking up her sister Fia in the woods. She pushed hard in the final moments, catching a girl from Vernon Hills. Sofia kept her eyes on her teammate, driving home hard for us and fighting off a few girls. Brionne, though...Brionne was a true senior. When I screamed, "WE. DON'T. HAVE. IT!!!" she turned into Riley. That final 300 meters was simply a sight to see. Not only did she catch at least five competitors, but she did it like she was on fire. She owned the last section of that course, and it made a huge difference in our team score. Liv hung on to be our 5th runner for the day. And while Brionne's kick was awe-inspiring, Liv's grit was, too. She was NOT feeling well, but she fought through it to finish HARD. Had she given up. Had she faltered even a bit in that last mile, we would not have had another week of XC. Jana did that work, too. McHenry was the 7th place team. Even though Jana didn't affect OUR score, she pushed up THEIR score by beating their #5 by only 3 seconds. Do you know how easily that could have gone the other way? And what about Norah? After dealing with an injury the week before, she stepped in to fill Juju's shoes (pun intended), and raced SO HARD for her team. I am SO PROUD of this seven! What I'm trying to say is this: While Mr. Niemi certainly celebrated Brionne's kick as the difference-maker, this TEAM had to step in together to make it happen. ALL SEVEN of you had to set discomfort and fear aside to keep our Sectional-Qualifying Streak alive. Honestly, if you would have asked me in June if we would advance as a team, i would have said, "Maybe...we will see." I just didn't know if we could grow enough to get the job done. This race, while not pretty, represents what I absolutely treasure about XC--team racing. Sure, I loved watching Audrey and Riley shine individually as State Qualifiers last year, but a pure team race like this one is my coaching dream come true. You simply would not quit on one another. And while it almost gave me a heart attack, it was really cool to watch. And so I offer this challenge to you all: Let's embrace this team mindset during track and all summer and next fall. Let's keep leaning on each other like we did today. Because if you can pull off qualifying for Sectionals while feeling the way you did on this day, I will bet on you bees EVERY TIME. STARS--every single one of you. I'll be honest--I'm finishing this blog in February, and I can still feel the chills that I felt that day. I'll also be honest--I know that we had a ton of fans yelling for us everywhere, but I simply cannot remember all the names. Rather than leave someone out, I will say this: it took every yell, every pointed finger, every clap, and every voice to make this happen. Thank you for pouring your love into these seven. This is truly a TEAM achievement.
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Saturday @ Warren--North Suburban Conference Meet:
The rain began on Thursday. And let up for a bit for us to practice on Friday morning. And then continued...all day and all night. And when we arrived at Warren? It wasn't exactly pouring, but the rain was blowing sideways in sheets. We nestled up in Warren's fieldhouse to wait. We could see there was standing water on the course, and we knew that with each race, the course would be churned up and become more complicated. But we also knew that we had some spots that would be great for go-zones: the turf field, the path in the woods, and the "downhill" by the shelter. And we also knew that we could embrace Peyton's mindset of racing hard despite the conditions. We learned that there would only be two races to preserve the course and get us home faster: Varsity and Open/FS combined. The varsity boys kicked things off with the right mindset, pushing through gross conditions. Our varsity pack warmed up off the course to preserve it as much as possible. They completed dynamic out of the elements, then headed to the starting line. There seemed to be a brief break in the rain as we waited for the start, but while the official gave his final instructions, the "liquid sunshine" began again. Our pack got out SO WELL, looking fantastic in pink as they emerged from the woods for the first time. Lauren went out with the lead pack, looking strong and comfortable. Rachel and Fia looked so good within steps of each other. Bri could see them just ahead, looking powerful. Alivia had such an aggressive start, not far behind Bri. And Jana and Juju were within each other's vision, looking amazing! I was so excited to see us looking assertive for the first part of the race. I was stoked to see our 7 using the go-zones so well. While the group did a nice job of using go-zones in the second loop, we did our best work in the final loop. Lauren worked up to two girls, passing them in the final 1000. Rachel passed passed passed to get herself back into All-Conference contention. Brionne pulled up to Fia to help her move in the final loop, steel sharpening steel. Alivia caught some sleepy runners, as did Jana and Juju. And final kicks? Whew! WE FLEW. I was so happy to hear from Mr. Niemi that Lauren worked that final muddy section and stadium loop so hard. She finished in 6th, her best finish at Conference yet! And Rachel kicked so hard in that final stretch, securing All-Conference honors as just a sophomore! What a huge example of growth from last year! And Brionne? She had a heck of a day, stepping up to help Fia and the team. Not only did she have a great kick but like Rachel, she also had big growth compared to her stellar race at Conference last year. She was only ticks away from her LPR despite the conditions, too. Fia did a great job of fighting for her team, nabbing one girl in the final loop and finishing strong, holding off two girls who were charging toward her. Bravo, Fia! Alivia rounded out our scoring 5, looking so impressive despite running her first race in these conditions. Proud of you, freshie! Jana was pulling on Alivia the whole way and was only a few people beyond her. Her kick was so powerful, especially in that final stretch! Talk about an improvement over last year?! I know it's not the same course, but Jana ran in th 26s last year at Conference in the F/S race. She has just improved SO MUCH over the course of this season. Awesome work, JanaJana! And finally, Juju stepped up to run Varsity with our pack today after a great performance at Sterling the week before. Like Jana, she was in the F/S race last year, running in the 27s. She has run so well the past few weeks, displaying her consistency and strength. Proud of you for stepping up to help our Varsity squad today, Juju! As a group, we finished in 5th place, beating Stevenson for the first time all season. We have seen them at every weekday quad, and they beat us all three times. I am proud that when it counted, we stepped up to nab them! More importantly, my heart was FULL watching our pack wait for each member at the finish line. The pink sleeves popped in the gray conditions, and it was beautiful to witness that linked mindset. We are ready to do big things with that attitude! Open and F/S Women: After two races and six loops of churn, the course was in rough shape for our next squad, but you would never know by their mindsets. On the line this group kept it light, laughing and smiling, and striding while we waited for the officials to get the race in motion. The cool temps and wet conditions continued for this race, and the course was rough. But at the start, we got out well, and I was excited to see us being so aggressive. Liz led the charge for our group, looking fantastic as she emerged from the woods. Cheyenne and Anesa were working in tandem just a few people behind her, looking strong as they helped one another. Mary was not far behind, looking assertive and focused. Then Alisia, Eva, and Jazmin emerged, pulling on each other and looking so positive despite the conditions. Annie led our next pack with Tati and Mel only steps behind. Our final powerful pack of Cici, Candy and Dani rounded out our racers for the day. They popped out of the woods looking so strong together! What I enjoyed next was watching our bees work so hard in go-zones. I knew Brionne was in the woods to push everyone, so I stood between the stadium and the woods, encouraging our bees to push hard before the muck of that turn before the path. Everyone did such an impressive job of pushing when the grass was good and picking a smart line once they were in the churned mess. No one had a look of pity for themselves; instead, all I saw was joy and determination. It was so cool to watch! I couldn't see everyone and make it all the way to the go-zone by the hill, but I could see us zooming down that hill, especially Liz, Chey, Anesa, Jazmin, Mel, and Tati! Nice work using the course to your advantage, bees! Coach Hamilton reported that everyone was so strong in the curve by the fieldhouse, especially Alisia plowing through puddles and mud while her competitors tried to stay dry. As our bees headed into the last loop, I knew it was going to be a day we would never forget. Despite being exhausted from the conditions, we had SUCH GREAT KICKS. Liz finished so powerfully, just missing a medal in the Open race. And then Mary came through with that sprinter speed, passing girls from Stevenson, Warren, and Libertyville. So impressive, Mary! And Cheyenne? She passed a girl from Libertyville, holding off her charge through the line. Anesa was only a click behind, courageously racing in these sloppy conditions despite her rude hip. Alisia was next, looking so strong through the final muck and sprinting in the stadium, inching past a girl from LZ. Jazmin pushed on the turn despite the crazy footing and zoomed to the finish. And Eva? She pressed SO HARD, fighting with a girl from Warren all the way to the line. Melanie was next, looking SO powerful as she has all year and pulling away from a Libertyville runner. And Tati? This was another example of Tati's perfect sprinter form. She went to the arms and dusting two Libertyville girls. Annie pulled away from a girl from Mundelein when she entered the stadium and nearly ran down a girl from Lake Forest. Candy had no one to race but herself when she entered the stadium, but that was enough. She was the lone person to PR today, despite these crazy conditions! She dropped 1:07 from Lakes the week before. Unreal! Awesome dedication, Candy! Cici worked through some serious leg pain to kick like a queen, too, finishing with ZB PRIDE! Dani rounded out our great kicks, opening up and finishing awfully close to her PR. Impressive run, Dani! Overall, I was so impressed with this crew. In the worst conditions, they STEPPED UP to compete and show off their strength. I cannot say this enough: If you can run three miles in rain, cold, mud and wind, you can do ANYTHING. So proud of you all for leaning on your teammates and competing with ZB PRIDE. One final note about today: Each season, all eight schools nominate a Sportsmanship Award Winner. The coaches and I take this award very seriously. Our sport is just so beautiful. I'm sure you vets and newbees would agree that it is so refreshing to hear other schools cheer everyone on, not just their own teams. If you continue running beyond high school, you will see that same energy at Turkey Trots, 10Ks and marathons. But this award is more than just cheering. It goes to someone who is selfless--someone who cares deeply about her team and does the little things that help make teams stick together. Aniya was an easy choice for us. Despite battling sickness for the latter half of the season and not feeling like her true running self, she never let that feeling disrupt her care for the team. She has always been this way, but I was particularly impressed to hear her check in with teammates after long runs, asking about how they felt in between her own chest-rattling coughs. She looks out for everyone and is the first to volunteer for shout outs and link nominations. Despite some jokes about her alleged side-eyes (lol), I never hear Aniya speak negatively around the team. Her grades are impeccable, and she is well-rounded outside of our sport. Aniya is the embodiment of ZB PRIDE and the linked spirit that I hope our whole team will continue to embrace! I am so proud that Aniya is our 2023 Sportsmanship Award Winner! We love you, Aniya! Saturday @ Sterling
We drove out to Sterling on Friday in order to bond and check out the course. The weather was rude as we drove, and I secretly wondered if we would run fast in these gusty, wet conditions. But when we arrived at the course, we were pleasantly surprised to find the course in great shape! After a great workout on the course and too many pictures, we headed to the hotel to eat and talk. The Friday experience was easy--veterans blended with newbees and everyone enjoyed some great laughter and connection. On Saturday, everyone looked ready, and our sunglass twins started the day right in the Frosh/Soph race. I'm not going to lie: I was disappointed that they did not have more people to compete with. This meet used to be HUGE, with at least 20 complete teams in the F/S and 30 in the Varsity. I'm not sure what has caused the decline in numbers because the course is so fun. Regardless, Juju and Norah took the lack of competitors in stride, and they used each other to push for the whole race. They did a great job of challenging themselves in the first mile and then working the go-zones in the second and third. They both had OUTSTANDING finishes and earned themselves medals for 10th and 11th place. They created a positive energy that the Varsity had no choice but to adopt! Our varsity pack of 7 took off great, looking awesome as they emerged from the woods for the first time. Lauren was challenging the leader at the front of the pack and looked confident! I love that she sees herself as a lead runner this season! Rachel and Fia emerged next working so well together, and Brionne was only a few clicks back looking fantastic! Alivia and Jana were in tandem in pink sleeves and looked so strong coming up the hill. And Liz rounded out our 7 looking great as she emerged, challenging the girls around her. Through the mile, we looked really good, with everyone taking advantage of the long downhill back into the woods. Brionne and Liz did a particularly good job of running the tangent along this go-zone. Nice job, bees! Alivia started to break away from Jana at this point, but Jana was doing everything in her power to hang onto her racing buddy. Coming out of the woods and heading to the 2-mile, I could see that our team race was really strong. I knew that if we could all stick or pass, we would be in great shape! I was so happy to see everyone maximizing the course and using the cues of Norah and Juliana in the woods to fuel their races. Going into the woods for the last time, everyone looked strong, but I could see that Bri was laboring in her breathing; when she pointed to her side, I figured she meant that her stomach was bugging her. Post-race, she let me know it was a mean side-stitch. This happens sometimes, and I want to offer a quick bit of advice to everyone about this annoyance. When you are first starting out at a runner, a side stitch or runners' cramp is usually due to your diaphragm (the long muscle that runs along the bottom of your ribs/lungs) is mad at you. It is not used to doing more work to help you breathe, so it cramps up to get you to slow down. As you become more fit, these cramps should subside. When do they come back? Sometimes when you are sick, they can become a problem as you labor more to breathe. The scenario where it can pop up despite being fit is when you are too tense in a workout or race. Let's face it: Running fast is HARD, and some days, we don't do as good of a job of staying relaxed when that pain sets in. Sometimes it isn't pain-induced, but stress-induced. If we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to hit a certain time or accomplish a certain goal, we tense up our shoulders and arms and hands. And that tenseness travels into our core, making that poor diaphragm work even harder than usual. The outcome? A rude stitch that makes relaxing feel impossible. So how do we solve this problem? Well, before the race, it's important to remember that NO MATTER THE OUTCOME, your coaches love you! Second, if you feel yourself tensing up, pull a coach aside and say it out loud. There is a lot of science that shows that simply stating that truth helps relieve some of that stress. If that doesn't work, I'm a particular fan of "The Riley." Riley used to jump in a small circle with her arms loose at her side. It was silly and helped her to get the tension out of her body. During the race, if you feel your breathing getting ragged or feel a cramp coming on, it's good to get yourself grounded by using the 5 Senses technique. Look around you, take a deep breath, forcefully let it out of your mouth while making an exhale noise, and then take in your environment. Think of one thing you taste, two things you smell, three things you feel, four things you see, and five things you hear. This technique gets you out of your head for a moment and lets you focus on your senses. It should be enough to help you relax and get your breathing back to a more comfortable cadence so that your diaphragm can relax. Ok, back to the race! When our bees emerged from the woods for the last time, they looked SO STRONG hitting the final 400. We practiced the final stretch the day before, and it was as if it was ingrained in everyone's heads. Lauren charged hard to the finish, holding off a girl and nearly catching the 2nd place finisher. Her time was fantastic--almost matching her LPR! She placed 3rd and earned a medal. More importantly, her low stick number helped our team score! Rachel was our second finisher, breaking the 20 minute barrier for the second time in her life. Although I love Sterling, it is definitely more technical than Warren, so this speedy time was impressive from our sophomore! Moreover, she finished in 14th to earn a medal and help our team score stay LOW. FiaFia was only a few clicks behind Rachel. This race was another huge one for Fia. Not only did she look locked in the whole time, but she ran a big LPR! I was impressed to see her battle runners in the final stretch, just like at Grant. We need Fia to keep this gritty racing mindset as we head into championship season! Keep it up, woman! Brionne was our 4th bee with a gritty race. She never quit on her team despite the stitch, and her finish was simply GORGEOUS. She used her sprinter speed and form to nab several girls in the last 200, and it was fun to watch! Nice job, senior! Keep that hungry mentality as we head into the final stretch of the season! Our freshie rounded out our scoring five with a HUGE day. She ran out of her mind, dropping a huge new PR of 21:15, nearly a minute faster than her previous best! It was cool to see Alivia step so big in this meet. Her kick was zooming, and she didn't rest until the finish line. Proud of your growth, freshie! More importantly, your gutsy performance helped keep our overall score at a low 82! Awesome work! Janalise had a heck of a day, too! Like her running buddy, she ran a new LPR, too. To see Jana race this season is like watching a whole new person! She looked so confident emerging from the woods! Her kick was beautiful! Proud of you, Jana! Finally, Liz rounded out our Varsity squad with a new LPR, too! She shaved off a sweet 14 seconds from her Warren time, and she looked great doing so. Like her teammates, her kick was powerful! Overall, I was really happy with the way we competed. Like the F/S race, this race was smaller, but we still took 2nd place, our best finish ever at this meet! So impressive! Let's keep this positive energy going for the next several weeks! PROUD OF YOU ALL for opening yourselves up to the opportunity of this trip; you embraced every moment, and it was a joy to watch you compete for each other. Friday @ Lakes It always kills me to miss this race, but Anesa blew up my phone with all the good news. When Hamilton and I left with the Varsity Crew to head out to Sterling, we drove through some pretty gross weather: first rain, then hail, then gusts of wind that nearly blew the bus off the highway. I worried that all of that mess would be headed to our JV squad at lakes. While the conditions were chillier than we are used to, it was dry for the bronze race. When I look at the results, I am just astounded. The course at Lakes is great, but it is not as fast as Warren, yet so many of you set new LPRs! Mary was our first finisher, shaving 15 seconds off her LPR from Warren. Her finish looked outstanding--tall, beautiful form, and fast! Awesome work on this technical course, Mary! Aniya was our next finisher only a few seconds behind. She set a new Season Best by 46 seconds, despite fighting off a ridiculously tenacious cough for weeks now. Like Mary, her kick looked fantastic, nearly catching a girl in the las steps. Congrats on a great race, Aniya! Joi was our next finisher, dropping a ridiculous 2:28 from her previous best. She let her hard work and fitness do the talking today! Like her teammates, she looked great coming into the chute, out-leaning a girl right at the finish line. What a big day, Joi! Proud of you! Tyla wasn't far behind. She has struggled with a sore quad lately, but she looked more like herself in this race, zooming to the finish and holding off a girl from another school. I know it's tough to run through an injury, but you really put a great race together today, Tyla! Speaking of injuries, EvaEva has been battling a sore hip for some time now. She has been doing all the right things: stretching and resting when necessary. She put together a HUGE race today, dropping 1:42!!! Her kick was powerful, nearly allowing her to catch a guy at the end. What a performance, Eva! Proud of you, girl! Jazmin was closing fast on Eva in the final steps, dropping a wow-inspiring 57 seconds! Whew! She has improved so much this season, and the look of determination on her face at the finish line says it ALL. Congrats on an awesome race, Jaz! Speaking of BIG PRs, Melanie had a HUGE race today, too. She dropped 1:48, skipping the 28s entirely and finishing in 27:15. Amazing! The growth Mel has had this season is just breathtaking. Not only has she embraced a more open stride, she has really learned how to believe in her fitness. Her finish was outstanding--she ran through the line with a big, open stride. Proud of you Mel! Tati used her as inspiration, because she dropped 65 seconds for a new LPR, too! She did it by staying focused and offering up a great kick. She nearly edged a girl from South Elgin who let up in the final steps. This is why you ALWAYS run through the line! Awesome effort today, Tati! Congrats on the new LPR! Despite sore calves, Sasha had a huge day, too! She broke out of the 30s (skipping 31 and 30) to earn a new LPR of 29:44! What?! She dropped a crazy 2:25 and got herself "unstuck." She kept running very similar times, but today she took a risk and it paid off! Her kick was beautiful--open and powerful and through the line. Congrats on a huge breakthrough, Sasha! Proud of you! Cici must have had the same mindset because she had a huge day, too. She dropped 3:04 to earn a pretty new LPR of 31:45. Like Mel, Eva, and Tati, she has grown SO MUCH since last season. What a gritty race! When she finished, she looked like she was flying! She ran so hard through the line, turned to look at her time, and then high-fived the girl that she beat with that pretty kick. Sportsmanship AND competitiveness--my favorite combo! Cici--congrats on a BIG breakthrough. I am so proud of you! Earlier in the week, Dani had a big breakthrough, running a PR on Libertyville's challenging course. Apparently she was not satisfied because she dropped a team-best of 4:39! Ridiculous! Her new PR of 32:21 is nearly 10 minutes faster than her first 3-mile race of the season. Her kick was beautiful, pulling away from a Mundelein competitor. Awesome work today, Dani! Last, but not least, our newbee Candy had her FIRST RACE of the season. She has been diligently stretching her calves and ankles, silently working through the tightness and pain to get to this moment. Cici was instrumental in helping her through the Darwin earlier in the week, and that teamwork paid off in this race. Congrats on a great first race, Candy! You may be asking, "Hey, how do you know what our finishes looked like?" Well, Anesa was beautiful and sent me videos, but you can also look at the live feed of the race here. It shows the action of the race and then the finishes so you can see how BEAST we all were coming across the line (and how some OTHER teams don't seem to care about finishing strong!). It was so much fun seeing Anesa's joy over your performances via text. She and Cheyenne were going NUTS over how you ran. Their commentary was absolutely amazing! They yelled things like, "Let me see your go-zone!" "Ms. Di Grazia is watching!" "Oh, she got her!" "That was SO GOOD!" "She really running, though!" "Do you see how that girl is trying to get Cici? Well Cici is tough!" and my favorite, "Um, they passed a boy!" It was even more fun to write this blog celebrating how hard you all worked. It's easy to slack when I'm not watching, but you showed your true ZB PRIDE today. You looked out for one another and stepped up to show off your fitness. Proud is not a strong enough word to describe how I feel after watching all of those videos! I have goosebumps! Tuesday @ Libertyville Nestled in the trees along the Des Plaines River, this course is simply gorgeous! It feels like real cross-country, and it definitely has its challenges: it's tricky to attack Bertha twice because she is a longer hill, and it's tough to navigate all the roots in the narrow paths of the upper woods. Despite not having much time to show you the whole course, you all raced this course SO WELL. Good things I was happy to see: Lauren ran a smart race here, using the hills to her advantage and running closer to Adeline from Stevenson than she has all year. I think the next time they match up, she will beat Adeline! Rachel and Fia worked the woods SO IMPRESSIVELY. They were within seconds of each other, and Rachel passed well going up the narrow path, while Fia worked the downhill by the school to keep contact. So well done! I hear that they both had killer kicks, too! There was a little bigger of a gap between Brionne and these two than I would like, but Brionne NEVER quit on her team. She fought hard, using the course to fix the gap. That's all I can ever ask! I didn't make it back for her kick, but I hear that Bri also had a beautiful finish, nearly nabbing two Libertyville girls. Alivia and Jana continued their partnership, pushing one another to pass opponents. Alivia pulled away in the last mile, and both had great finishes. Nice work you two! Liz was our next finisher, only a few clicks ahead of Juju. She gave Juliana a great visual to help through the woods. Coach Hamilton told me that Liz looked great coming down the path by the river and Juliana had a great kick! After starting together, Norah fell off her sunglasses-twin running buddy a bit in the second half, but she still worked to reconnect with Juju by working hard in the woods and on the downhills. Mary was our next finisher, and she looked really good on this challenging course. In the last woods loop, she tripped on a root that was hiding in the shadows, but she reset SO WELL and used the momentum to keep passing sleepy runners. Nice work not letting that moment rattle you, Mary! Joi was our next finisher, and she had SUCH an impressive day. To come close to your LPR on a course like this says a lot about her progress. She really used her long stride to her advantage on these hills, and she just looked aggressive every time I saw her. Her kick was a full sprint to top off this great race! Awesome work, Joi! Tyla was our next finisher, and I nearly pulled her out of the race after the first 800. Her quad was clearly bugging her, but she waved me off and kept racing. When I saw her again right before the mile, she looked smoother and more confident. She had a great mindset in this race, using the course to her advantage. She fought hard despite a sore leg, and I could not be more proud! Nice work, Tyla! Alisia was our next finisher. Despite having a bit of an off day compared to her recent performances, she still fought hard and kicked like a sprinter at the end. Nice work, Alisia! Mel wasn't far behind her, continuing her fantastic season of racing. She looked so strong on the hills, running an impressive time on this challenging course! Like Alisia, her kick was fantastic! Nice work, MelMel! Tati was after Mel and had an impressive race. She nearly matched her time from our home course, despite the increased difficulty of this course. Like Mary, Tati got got by a tree root in the woods, but she didn't let that distract her. When I saw her again at the finish, she looked like a sprint mechanics video! Her arms were SO impressive, and she looked so determined to finish hard. Definitely the best kick of the day! Awesome work, Tati! Sasha was our next bee, and she had a solid race today. Her legs have been bothering her, but she raced hard today, running near her PR despite the difficulty of the course. Like Tati, she had a great kick on that final flat--nice work, Sash! Our last two bees deserve a few extra sentences. Cici looked SO GOOD today. Not only did she run a season best, but she did it by really attacking the course. She looked so focused every time I saw her. She did a great job of zooming down the hill by the school, and her finish was outstanding! She ran 17 seconds faster than at our course! That's huge! Awesome work, Cici! And Dani? She ran a HUGE PR, dropping 1:16 from our home course (and THAT was a great race for her, too!). Dani's performance is a great example of believing in hard work over time. She let herself get fit both physically and mentally. To PR at Libertyville shows that racing has mentally clicked for her. Awesome work today, Dani! Proud of you! Overall, we had a good day on this course. I didn't see a single one of you get intimidated by this challenging terrain, and you continued to support your fellow bees. Despite being beaten by Libertyville and Stevenson, I like how you raced strong in the second half. We nabbed Mundelein and just looked sharp today. Proud of you all! I know we didn't race this week, but I wanted to take a moment to remind you of/share a few things:
Tuesday at Stevenson (Vernon HIlls Athletic Conference):
This is the time of the season when the going gets tough. We had an emotional high on Saturday with great races and a slew of PRs. After that kind of team performance, it's difficult to "get back up" for a Tuesday meet. I could feel some of that malaise on the bus, and I knew that the muddy conditions might put people in the wrong mindset. When we stopped walking the course and started RPR, I saw that there was a lack of focus, and I didn't want to waste a chance to race hard. After the warm up and dynamic, I knew that the story about Maya was important to share. I'd like to share more about Maya here now. As a freshie, Maya joined our Summer Endurance Camp and showed so much promise, but when the season started, they were MIA. I called their house to see what was up and was thankful that I was able to talk them into joining for the actual season. I don't want to speak for Maya, but it was my observation that running was both a joy and a trial for them throughout their career. Maya had absolutely beautiful running form--their stride was powerful and smooth and really a joy to watch! Throughout their career, they made an impact on our Varsity squad, helping us break a streak of not qualifying for the Sectional as a team in the 2019 season. Some days, Maya loved running, ripping intervals off and feeling strong. Other days, Maya hated running, especially on long run days. And some days, running betrayed Maya, like when they suffered a stress fracture during the sophomore season, after a tremendous start to the season. I distinctly remember watching Maya walk around the VHAC course in a boot that protected the stress fracture. Despite not being able to race, Maya still contributed to the team by getting splits and cheering on every runner. Training is tricky--my job is to push you all so that you get stronger, but not to the point of breaking you. I unintentionally broke Maya that season, and it was so hard to watch them not be able to compete. That's a big reason why I shared their story prior to your race on Tuesday. It's easy to feel tired or irritated by muddy conditions, or frustrated with school or any number of distractions. But I always think of Maya on days like that because running and racing can be taken away, and sometimes it's only then that you realize how much you want to be a part of it. Feel free to check out Maya's XC and track (click on go to TF Bio on the right to get to track) times here on athletic.net! The times are impressive, as was Maya's state qualification for Track! The times don't sum up this caring teammate, incredible runner, and thoughtful human, though. Hopefully you'll get to meet Maya in person at a future Bee Linked! I appreciated your willingness to hear Maya's story in our pre-race huddle, and your actions on the course. Despite the conditions, I saw a lot of gritty racing on Tuesday! Let's talk about the highlights. First, I asked Lauren, Brionne, Rachel, and Fia to hit certain splits today. We were working on getting some tempo work in because these four are solidly in Varsity and will have a longer season ahead. They did a great job of meeting these targets while racing hard in the last mile. I was really happy about their work today! I asked people to use that tunnel in the woods on the back stretch as a go-zone, and then again by Coach Hamilton and the tennis courts. I LOVED watching you all zoom at that skinny tree and catch people in the woods tunnel. I started to make a list of people who used that zone well, and I realized it was all of you. Honestly, as a group, you guys are doing a GREAT job of making competitive moves this season. If I had to pick two, Tyla and Mel really stood out in this section of the course! I couldn't see all the finishes from my vantage point, but I did see Aniya, Cici, Sasha, and Joi really hit it from the 400 and the zoom the final straight. Awesome work, bees! Finally, I want to shout out Eva for running a LIFETIME BEST in these muddy conditions! Eva had a tremendous race on Saturday at Warren, setting a new LPR of 28:39 in those cool temps and on a flat, fast course. Eva's achievement at VHAC is huge because the ground was not great for fast times, but Eva shaved another 27 seconds off her Warren performance. That means that Eva was pressing EVERYWHERE on this sloppy course! When I think about where Eva was last year as a runner compared to now, the growth is simply impressive. Not only does she "get it" now, but she is steadily improving as a racer. SO proud of your growth, EvaEva! Before I sign off of this race recap, I want to share how full my heart was as you were all taking pics of the sunset. There is nothing that I love more than a beautiful sky, and the fact that you were all so taken with Tuesday's sky was just heart-warming to me! I love all the pics we took that day, and I am so glad to see the team growing together as it is. Keep finding the beauty in our world, in our team, and in each other! That kind of awareness is one aspect of growing strong teams. Saturday @ JT Invite (Grant Bulldog Sports Complex): If you go to athletic.net, click on records, choose results grid, and then change it to women (the stupid site defaults to men...boo), you can see our team's progress over the course of the season. Anything highlighted in yellow is a season PR at the distance (remember--many of you raced 2 miles at Deerfield, and everyone ran a 4K at Parkside), any times written in red are lifetime PRs, and anything in green indicates that you made progress in that race. You can't help but notice all the yellow and red in the Bill Dawson (Warren) column. I knew you were ready to run fast there, and Mother Nature helped you out! And you also can't help but notice that the column for this past Saturday is devoid of any color. And I DON'T CARE. There are some races when a PR is cool outcome, but for the ENTIRE season, I want you to be a competitor. I want you to see what is possible. From frosh/soph to Varsity to Open, you ALL did just that on Saturday, and I cannot stop smiling. On the bus, I invited you to consider the possibilities with the story of 62. I'm going to share a few more details of that story here! For years, we have taken a small group of dedicated and ready runners to Oshkosh for a week in July. The trip is meant to server several purposes: to encourage team-building and goal setting; to push people out of their comfort zones; and to be a reward for summer hard work. Through discomfort, we find strength in each other and the team. We start by camping in tents, forcing everyone into the same, slightly uncomfortable situation. We continue by doing mentally and physically difficult workouts in teams while living, eating, and sleeping in the dorm at Oshkosh. For several years, we had the opportunity to meet with the Oshkosh XC coach, Eamon McKenna, who ran at Oshkosh and then came back to coach there. He didn't start as a runner, however; he had dreams of becoming an NBA player. He was particularly taken with the incredible skills of a Utah Jazz player--Pistol Pete Maravich. Maravich was renown for his incredible ball-handling skills, and McKenna was mesmerized by him for the same reason. So McKenna started doing one of Pistol Pete's favorite drills: Around the Waist. As quickly as he could, he would pass the ball around his own body, counting the revolutions earned in 30 seconds. So young McKenna started practicing. And while he never grew to a height that would be conducive to playing basketball, he did become REALLY good at around the waist. He was so good at it that he started challenging everyone he met to give the 30 seconds a shot. He recorded everyone's score over the years, long after he had given up playing basketball and had become a really good distance runner. When we met him, his list of scores was so long that the font size was 2 on his spreadsheet in order to make the whole list fit on one page. He had challenged teammates, complete strangers, Olympic sprinters, and countless others to participate. The best score on the list was his own: 62 revolutions in a mere 30 seconds. Back in 2018, a senior named Victoria was having the summer of her life. She had already put together two strong seasons (she didn't join until sophomore year) in both XC and track, and she was ready to do big things as a senior. She was hard-working, thoughtful, and competitive. And she LOVED running! When we met with Coach McKenna at that summer's Oshkosh, he challenged our team to see how they would do at around-the-waist. Victoria was the first to volunteer, and she boldly walked to the center of the room, basketball in hand. But before Coach started the timer, Vic asked for a minute to collect herself. She had a look of doubt on her face when she asked McKenna, "What if I mess up and drop the ball or get a bad score?" He looked her in the eye and replied, "What if you get 62?" Her whole demeanor changed. In that simple response, he had changed her mindset from one of failure to one of possibility. In that moment, our rallying call was born for the season. For the remainder of the summer and all fall, as a team, we talked possibilities. When it came time for the seniors to design the team gear, they KNEW that a 62 would be on the back. Steffany Banda, a fellow senior and AMAZING artist, created the look of the front and back of the shirt. It had been years since we had qualified for Sectionals as a team, and we talked extensively about the possibility of that happening. Although that goal did not come to fruition, both Kelsey (Lauren's big sis) and Victoria qualified as individuals. At the Sectional, both Kelsey and Victoria ran lifetime bests, embracing the possibility before them. And their mindsets set the stage for the following season (check out my description of Maya and the 2019 season in the Stevenson blog!). On Saturday, you all HEARD me...you did not simply listen. In the huddle of the frosh/soph race, I saw that several of you had written 62 on your hands and legs. It's one thing to commit to writing a number with a Sharpie, but it's quite another to embrace the mindset for 3 miles. At the start, Juliana, Norah, Mary, Alisia, and Eva got out harder than usual. 62. On the hill the second time, Joi, Tyla, Dani, and Cici were ZOOMING. 62. In the second half, EVERYONE used the go-zones as a way to catch sleepy runners and stay in the mindset of possibilities. 62. And the finishes? Sophie WHIPPED around the final two flags to challenge competitors. Tyla looked like a sprinter in the last 200, finding a new gear. Eva finished with pride, despite a hip that was not cooperating. And Dani? Dani showed that girl what was up, sprinting to victory. 62. 62. 62. 62. The energy of this race set the tone for the next one. Our Varsity girls were small in number but mighty in 62. Lauren got out hard, giving her a chance to run with the leaders. Fia knocked my socks off, stepping up in Brionne's absence and helping Rachel set a great pace. And Jana and Alivia? They sharpened each other the whole way, stepping up when the other needed to be pushed. And the finishes? Despite feeling heavy in the last mile, Lauren fought hard to lead us, placing 3rd. Fia had THE RACE OF HER LIFE (and she's not done...) by believing in herself and showing off her fitness. She pressed the last mile, moving up to 7th. If you did not get to see her glorious finish, please go to our Facebook team page: Zion Benton Cross Country and Distance Crew. Jay's dad took some awesome pictures, and you can see the sequence of Fia challenging a girl from Lakes for the entire last stretch. They are shoulder-to-shoulder until Fia inches her out in the final step. And Rachel? Instead of having a fixed mindset about what order we need to finish in, she fought for the whole last mile, driving up the hill, pushing the go-zones, and racing gritty through her sprinter finish. And the Jana-Alivia duo? They kept pushing each other until Alivia pulled away in the final sprint, also challenging a girl from Lakes until the final steps. 62. 62. 62. 62. 62. Our team effort led to a trophy and three medals. Bling is fun. But knowing that you gave your all for your team? Whew. That is some 62 stuff. And so OF COURSE our Open Women were going to bring the heat in the literal heat. It got toasty for their race, but they didn't focus on that. They focused on 62. From the gun, Chey, Aniya, and Mel showed their 62 grit. Every single time they crested the hill, they looked amazing. The go-zone heading into the woods? Fantastic. And the "fake" hill in the woods? Well, my people report that they wisely used the downhill and attacked the alleged "up." For a bit, Chey and Aniya worked together like Alivia and Jana, pushing each other...steel sharpening steel. And Mel? She was working the people around her, zooming off turns. I'm not going to lie, though. We talked about choices, and each of these veterans faced some choice moments in their races. Coming up the hill for the last time, Aniya struggled with the heat and had to have a 62 conversation with herself. And when Aniya pulled away from Chey, Chey had to have a 62 conversation with herself about being second-half strong. And when Mel was struggling after throwing up, we had to have a 62 reminder. All three of these bees finished with such grit. Aniya placed 13th, earning a ribbon! Chey finished 17th, also earning a ribbon! And Mel finished with an incredible kick, reminding everyone (including herself) how she never quits. 62. 62. 62. So you can understand why I do not care about times. Your races SCREAMED 62 today. Over and over and over. You fought for the possibility of gritty races. You fought for yourselves. And most importantly, you fought for your TEAM. Speaking of which, I'd love to take a moment to talk about team placing. No matter the race, a team score is created by adding the places of our first FIVE runners, with the LOWEST score winning. In the frosh/soph race, this was Juliana (27), Norah (28), Sophie (31), Mary (39), and Tyla (44). See how close together our places are? That's great because it means that not many people got between us to push up our score. Check out this screenshot of the scores (scroll down!) Our f/s group placed 7th, narrowly missing out on beating Lake Forest. You can see that their first, second, and third place runners (15, 16, & 21) beat our top three. But you can also see that our 4th and fifth beat their 4th and 5th. That's important and what brought us so close! So why are there seven numbers? Well, a full team is considered to be 5 score-ers and two "pushers". The 6th and 7th runners act as alternates in case something happens to 1-5. But they can also "push up" another team's score by beating a score-er. If you look at our 6th and 7th runners (Alisia & Joi), Alisia beat their 4th, 5th, and 6th, while Joi beat their 6th. Alisia helped to push up Lake Forest's score, which is awesome! If Joi had been 36th, she could have pushed up Lake Forest's score by two points, and we would have been even closer to beating them. That's hard to know in the middle of a race, though, so taking a 62 mindset into the race is what matters: look at every single jersey in front of you as a possibility to help your team! A few other notes about scoring. We obviously had more than 7 people in this race! Eva, Cici, and Dani had great races, but they did not have any impact on the scoring this week. They could in the next race, though! On the flip side, we only had 3 bees in the open race. Since we did not have at least 5--like we did in Varsity--then we had an incomplete team and could not count in the team scoring. I hope that all makes sense! Thanks for coming to XC School! Overall, it was a joy to watch you all race on Saturday. We have the luxury of a training week this week, and then we head into the end of the season. Next week on Tuesday, we race at Libertyville's Adler Park, a beautiful site for racing, complete with some hills to help us in the final weeks of our season. At the end of the week, we split: Frosh/Soph and Open Women will race at Lakes' Sunset Invite. This course is fast, and we did SO well there last year. Varsity will head to Sterling for an overnight and invite. We did SO well there last year, too! Let's really focus on sharpening our fitness, celebrating each other's greatness, and coming together as links in a 62-mindset chain! After a week of no meets but impressive workouts (don't forget how awesome you all did at the hills of Wadsworth), we headed into a home meet and Warren. What a great week of competition!
Tuesday, September 12th--Senior Night @ Home with Lake Forest, Lake Zurich, and Stevenson: Before I talk about the actual racing, special thanks to Brionne, Lauren, and Adam for giving up their study hall to help the coaches load up all the gear for our course. And thank you to Brionne and Lauren for reversing the same process after the meet was over. I appreciate you all! Thank you to you all for helping get the course set up, too. The coaches cannot do it alone, and we appreciate all of your energy. Special shout out to the guys for taking down the course--they handled most of it, and I am appreciative! Finally, thank you all for making such great signs to honor our seniors. This tradition was born out of our Covid season, and I'm glad you all helped to keep it alive! I also give thanks to Estrella, class of 2023, for continuing to support our bees. Not only did she show up to wish everyone luck, but she also brought flowers for the seniors! <3 What a great example of being linked for life! Thanks, Estrella! I truly enjoyed watching you all race today. Here's what stood out the most: First, I was really impressed by our collective risk-taking, especially in the first 800. As you are all getting more fit, it's cool to watch you believe in your fitness and race accordingly. By getting out well, it makes it easier to be pulled along by people who are slightly faster than you. Once you are there, you start to believe that you belong! I was particularly taken by the aggressive starts by Jana, Alivia, Dani, Alisia, and Crystal. Nice job trusting yourselves! Second, I was so happy to see EVERYONE use the course to their advantage. I was able to see everyone after the first 800 in what I like to call the "Sectional Loop," named thus due to its similar configuration as the small loop behind the Busse Sectional starting line and bus parking. The Busse Loop is hard because it's a rare quiet spot on the course where it's easy to fall asleep as well as being too far out, featuring too many tight turns to begin a serious kick. Our Sectional Loop is tricky for similar reasons. The first time you hit it, your adrenaline from the start is gone, and you are hit with a tight turn, a hill, and this year, a tree branch right in your face (sorry everyone...). The two tight turns are away from the eyes of fans, too. What I loved was watching you all charge the uphill coming off the turn. You looked assertive and locked in! The best part was watching you all come out of this loop. You used the downhill to fuel you into the senior sign alley. I really noticed that Mary, Tyla, Joi, Norah, and Fia used this section to their advantage. Awesome work, bees! Third, I caught most of you either entering Shiloh Woods, coming off the volleyball court, or exiting Shiloh Woods. This section of the course is tough because it is generally devoid of fans. Everyone I saw looked SO GOOD in this section, especially the turn going back to the trees after the volleyball court. In particular, Juliana, Rachel, Lauren, and Sasha did a great job of whipping around that turn and changing up their cadences. Proud of you all! Finally, our last 400 was SO STRONG. Honestly, this team has to be the best group of finishers I have ever seen, and that's not hyperbole! So many of you used the Sectional Loop downhill to whip to the 400 mark, and then kept that momentum! I didn't see every finish, but Aniya, Cici, Eva, Jasmin, Norah (especially when she threw her sunglasses!), Brionne, Tati, and Crystal looked great! Overall, I was so happy by the way we raced as a collective. We had 24 finishers today, and 21 either earned a lifetime or season PR. The other three were very close and raced hard! PRs don't happen by fixating on times. They happen by racing hard and staying focused in the most difficult moments. Congrats to the following earners of LPRs: Crys, Alisia, Jana, Sasha, Mary, Jazmin, Eva, Melanie, Joi, Dani, Tyla, Tati, Annie, Alivia, Norah, Cheyenne, Liz, and Brionne! And congrats to Aniya, Cici, and Lauren for earning SPRs. Breaking through these boundaries feels GREAT, but don't forget what got you there--racing with confidence! Finally, shout out to Lauren for moving up on the Top Ten Board. She is now in the #4 spot, unseating her sister Kelsey, with a time of 19:14. Lauren made this happen by using her energy wisely in the first half of the race, staying focused in the woods, and finishing strong. Awesome work, Lauren! Overall, I am so stoked about the energy from this meet. We were not ready to beat Lake Forest, Lake Zurich, or Stevenson YET, but I like our odds when we meet at the end of the season! There were a lot of important breakthroughs today, and it was fun to watch. Before I sign off for this meet, I want to give our three seniors a shout out, too. Brionne has been a dedicated member of our team for three seasons now. Her growth since her first season is remarkable. Although she was dedicated from the start, her race today was an important moment. She closed the last mile so impressively by letting herself be in the moment and just embracing her three years of strength and knowledge. It was awesome to see! Congrats on a great race, Bri! This is Liz's second year of XC. When she started, she was in the 29s/30s at Waukegan's course, but she made some important breakthroughs since then. Today was no different. Over the summer, she said she hoped to break 24 before the end of the season, and I promptly informed her she would do it near the start of the season. Today, she did just that! Congrats on a gritty race, Liz! Finally, Anesa only saw the light this summer, but she has been an important addition to our team. Not only has she been practicing and racing like a senior, she also has the positive energy we need to keep fighting throughout the season. Although she was too sick to race today, she was here to share her support. We know she will be back to racing strong soon! Thank you to all three of you for your dedication to the sport and team and willingness to lead us to greatness! Love you all, seniors! Saturday, September 16th @ Bill Dawson Invite--Warren: I knew that we were ready to run fast, and Bill Dawson smiled upon us with some great weather; however, I am still stunned by how great these races went, even 24 hours after the fact. Before we celebrate, let me take a moment to honor my friend Bill Dawson. Coach Dawson was the leader of both the XC and Track & Field teams for decades at Warren. I distinctly remember the first time I met him, our boys' coach at the time (Coach Davis) simply said, "Di Grazia, let me introduce you to Dawson. He's one of the good ones." Davis was so right. Over the years, Coach Dawson offered me advice from workout plans to managing personalities to life advice. He genuinely cared about runners becoming great humans, and I found that guiding principle so important. In the fall prior to Covid, COach Dawson found out that he had cancer. He tried everything, but the cancer unfortunately won out shortly after the XC season started in the fall of 2020. His team wore "Do it for Dawson" shirts all season, and they narrowly missed making it to State, despite racing so well all season long. I'll never forget the last thing he told me while we were at the Deerfield meet only days before he died, "Di Grazia...I don't have much longer, but I'm really proud of how I lived my life." What a thing to be able to say about one's own life. This meet is a way for me to take some time to remember my good friend and to celebrate something he loved: the purity of our sport. Frosh/Soph Women: This race was DEEP. Several new schools have joined this meet, and when I looked at my watch after the first 800, I was in shock. The leaders were running FAST. And then I saw that we were running fast, too! I can honestly say that ALL TEN women in this race embraced the go zones. In particular, I loved the way Juliana, Jazmin, Mary, and Alisia zoomed down the mini-hill by the shelter. Coach Hamilton reported to me that Eva, Joi, and Tyla really embraced the go zones right before the gravel trail. Honestly, this continuous zooming is why our bees did so well! I also was just floored by the kicks in this race. Norah was FLYING in the last straightaway; Mary nabbed at least two girls in the final 300; Alisia was in flight the whole last section; Tyla's arms were so impressive in the final stretch; Jazmin worked the first straight so hard, and then doubled down in the last straight; Joi and Annie worked so well together at the finish to push one another, with Annie nabbing a girl in the final meters; Eva's open stride was so impressive; and Sasha's speediness showed in the WHOLE 300! Whew...it was so much fun to watch this race! EIGHT out of the ten women in this race ran LIFETIME PRs: Juliana, Mary, ALisia, Tyla, Joi, Eva, Annie, and Jazmin--congrats! Norah and Sasha weren't far off and still had great races. I was SO PUMPED after this race, and I know that our other racers were, too! Varsity Women: Our six were quiet at the start. Maybe it was because the Wisconsin girl kept puking right next to them. Maybe it was because they were thinking about the table that the F/S women set. Or maybe they were just locked in. I'll take that kind of quiet if it is going to produce the races that these six unleashed! Like the F/S women, our six got out HARD and didn't flinch at the time. It is easy to see a time that is near your season mile PR and think, "Oh, snap, I need to slow down." NONE of these bees did that. Instead, they leaned into their go zones and stepped UP. I loved that Lauren went out hard with the lead pack, putting herself in a position to let the top girls push her to a lifetime PR and a 10th place medal--huge growth over last year's 20th place! Awesome work, Lauren! Rachel did the same thing, getting out strong and racing GRITTY in the middle of the race. She did such a great job of embracing the downhill go zone EVERY TIME. It was great to see! What impressed me most was her kick. She has talked about improving it, and honestly, she was IN FLIGHT at the end of her race. Congrats on a big breakthrough into the 19s, Rach! Fia's race was the best I have ever seen. Period. She got out hard, running only seconds off her mile TT from Thursday, then pushing hard in the go zones in the second mile. Her last mile was the most impressive, though. She knew that Brionne needed help, and she STEPPED UP. So many times in the past, she was scared to break out of her comfort zone, but she did it in a huge way today. She caught Brionne and gave her a visual to pull on in the last half mile of the race. Her kick was outstanding, too! All of this combined into a huge PR for her! So proud of your grit, Fia! Speaking of grit, Brionne's race was just that. She reported that she felt good in the first mile, and it showed, with her leading Fia at first, and then only two clicks behind her at the mile. Mile 2 was when her stomach started messing with her, but she fought through that pain for her team. I'm not sure how she brought her time back down in the last mile, but she did, finishing with an impressive kick that left several competitors in the dust! Running a lifetime when you feel good is far easier than when you are struggling with a distraction; Brionne did just that, smashing her LPR from last year at Conference. So proud of you for fighting for your girls, Bri! Liz was our fifth bee today. Prior to the race, she told me that she felt intimidated to run Varsity, and that she wanted to feel what it was like in the front of the race. She set those fears aside and let herself show off her fitness today, smashing her LPR from Tuesday! Like her teammates, she got out hard and did a great job of pushing the go zones. She looked really strong on the second downhill, working to reconnect with a pack that was just ahead of her. Her finish was also fantastic! Great work, and congrats on the new LPR! Finally, Anesa just floored me today. After catching the plague that hit so many of us in the last few weeks, Anesa rebounded with a great workout on Thursday, and an even greater performance in this meet. Like Liz, she was wary of racing Varsity when I proposed it, but she stepped up to the challenge, letting her competitive nature take hold. She kept pulling on Liz's lead to guide her. Like Liz, she also ZOOMED the downhill go zone, working to pass sleepy racers. Her kick was beautiful--tall and speedy! Congrats on a new LPR, Anesa! Overall, these six raced so crazy-good that it brought tears to our eyes after the race. If you can surprise yourselves after such a heavy week (big emotional race at home plus a challenging workout on Thursday), I simply cannot wait to see what you do later in the season. Keep remembering what got you here: beelieving in your fitness despite going to scary, new places! SO PROUD OF YOU ALL! Open Women: Our last four bees got the chance to soak up all that good energy from the prior two races as well as the men's. They didn't have a choice but to PR, too! Chey was our leader in this race, getting out so hard and ignoring her knee issue. She looked so strong on the downhill go zone (I know--a repeating theme in this blog). The first pic I took of her sums up her race: she looks confident, tall, and strong! I loved watching her looking so powerful. She has come such a long way since her freshie season! Her finish was fantastic, and she earned herself a big LPR. Awesome work, Chey! Aniya was our second finisher, and her picture is much like Cheyenne's--she looks powerful! Aniya has the distinction of running her last mile the fastest today, which is impressive. It shows how mentally tough she has become over the seasons! She ran a significant season PR today, and it was great to see her looking more like her self in a race. So proud of your grit today, Aniya! Tati was our next bee with a HUGE RACE. Since joining last year, Tati has been quietly getting stronger, thinking about how this sport could help her with track. Today, she became a true XC racer. Not only did she smash the 30 minute boundary, but she did it despite tight hip muscles that plagued her all week. Like her teammates in this race, she got out hard, running significantly faster than her mile time trial best of season! She worked hard through the middle of the race, and fought to bring down her last mile time. Her kick was glorious, too. Congrats on the new LPR, Tati! That was so fun to watch! Finally, Melanie had a huge day, too! She got out harder than she ever has, running a lifetime PR in the first mile! What? From there, she fought hard to work through a sleepy foot, and finished with an impressive kick that had the Warren coach turning his head! This is Mel's first time under 30, although she came close on Tuesday. I love that she smashed this number obstacle, and I love that she did it with gritty racing. Out of everyone, she really listened every time I saw her in a go zone. Awesome work, Mel! Overall, these four looked SO GOOD from gun to chute. They really embraced the energy of the day and rose to the challenge! Proud of you all! In closing, one last shout out to Candy and Crys for getting splits for us today. You can see them if you click here! Your goal is to run as evenly as possible while being competitive. That's a tricky balance, and some courses (like this one) lend themselves more to consistency! We want these two racing with us ASAP, but it was great that they were able to contribute in a different way today. Overall, the energy today was so GOOD. I loved how you cheered for each other, and I love that the bus was quiet after shout outs. You spent all your energy at the meet, and I appreciate that! Let's stay focused on that same mindset as we head to Stevenson's course and back to Grant! Saturday @ Parkside (Rebel Invite)
I'll take the blame that the energy didn't feel quite right when we were at the starting box doing dynamic. By putting everyone in the same race and worrying about the heat later in the day, I unintentionally sent the message that the meet was not as important as it is! And honestly, a 4K race is a weird distance, too. BUT, every race is a chance to grow, a chance to bank miles and hills, a chance to learn how to race. I give you all credit that when the gun sounded, you all took care of business! Coach Hamilton stationed herself at the top of the hill, and reported that you all looked SO STRONG at the top. Everyone did a nice job resetting and using the next part of the course as a reset. By the time I saw you all again, you were over halfway through the race (I don't like this course for this reason only: I hate that it's hard to see you all more than once!) I was happy to see Rachel and then Fia so close to the front. Both of them expressed UNFOUNDED doubts pre-race, and I was pleased that they set those doubts aside and just raced according to their abilities. It's a good experience to run with the front pack, and I'm glad that these two did just that! They both looked poised and powerful as they zoomed by me, using the slight downhill. They finished 3rd and 5th respectively, earning medals in the JV race. Nice work you two! Our third finisher was Jana with a really nice breakthrough. If Lauren & Brionne had been healthy and racing, Jana would have been our 5th. She was much closer to Sofia (1:42 gap) than she was to Brionne on Wednesday (2:59 gap). That's a huge improvement! This growth means that she got out harder and is starting to truly trust her fitness that she earned this summer. Keep reaching for your teammates, Jana! Speaking of reaching for a teammate, Alivia had another nice race today. She was not far behind Jana, and she looked professional in her spikes! Quick side note: Spikes are not required, but there is something about taking off your training shoes and putting on those sleek, light, aggressive shoes that signals to your brain that it is RACE TIME. Ok, back to Alivia. She did a great job of using the course to her advantage. Bravo! When the timers separated out the freshies, she ended up 5th and took home a medal. Nice work! Liz was our 5th finisher overal (4th for the open race). She is looking stronger and stronger as the week moves on. I know she is still ridding her body of that nasty cold bug, but today she looked more like herself. She was assertive early on and did a nice job of pulling Anesa along when I saw the two of them at the 1.5 mark. This race shows how much Liz has improved since last year: she ran nearly 3:30 faster than last fall! Take that knowledge and keep taking risks, Liz! Anesa did a great job of pulling on Liz's experience. She had a great day on this hilly course. I hear that she had a fantastic kick, too. Nice work, Anesa! :) Although Juliana was not satisfied with her race today, I am here to report that I am! She was our 7th finisher overall, and she looked GREAT on the hills, and she gave Aniya a visual to pull on. Proud of you, Juliana! Aniya had a strong effort today, too. She did a nice job of using others to help her push in the middle of the race. She was also smart about the course, using the downhill by me to push herself out of her comfort zone. Proud of you, Aniya! Alisia was our next finisher, not much behind Aniya. Not only did she have a great, open stride kick, but she also worked well on the downhills! Nice work, Freshie! Cheyenne was not far behind Alisia. Although her knee has been bothering her, she soldiered up and looked FANTASTIC on the small hill I was near. I know it can be frustrating to compete when not at 100%, but getting that hill work in now will pay off HUGE in the coming weeks! Like Liz, Cheyenne's strength gains have been HUGE in the last year. She ran nearly 2:00 faster than last year on the same course. Impressive growth, Chey! Proud of you! Mary looked strong today! She was cruising through the woods when I saw her, and her kick was impressive. Nice work, Mary! Tyla was our next bee with an impressive performance. Like Mary, she was working the woods and challenging herself. I caught the tail end of her kick, and it was pretty to watch! Nice work, Ty! In the woods, Joi and Eva were working so well in tandem. Once past me, Joi made the move to catch the next pack, and she did it while encouraging Eva to pull with! She had a great kick at the end, and is really starting to learn how to challenge herself mid-race. Nice work, Joi! Tati was our next finisher, and man did she look good in the woods! The pic I took of her is the best one of the bunch. Her eyes are open...but more importantly, her stride looks so strong. She improved by 2:32 compared to her race at Parkside last year, and it shows in the pic. Her confidence is so obvious now! Proud of your growth, Tati! Keep it up! Eva finished after Tati. Although she didn't feel well in the second half of the race, Eva pushed herself so hard! Like Tati, she had BIG growth compared to last year: she ran nearly 3:00 faster! I hope these stats are showing veterans and newbees alike the power of showing up, day after day. Those cumulative steps matter! Proud of your grit today, Eva! Sasha was the next finisher, and did she look good today! Sasha ZOOMED down the hill I was near, using that momentum to propel her up the small hill on the other side. This is what I mean about using the course--awesome job, Sasha! And tremendous kick! Cici was our next finisher. Like her fellow veterans, she showed SO MUCH GROWTH today. She knocked 3:09 off her time from last year. So impressive! She did it with an open stride and an open mind. Nice work, Cici! Dani was our next finisher. Not only did she do a nice job with the hill when she zoomed by me, but she also let the crowd fuel her kick. She looked so powerful with her quick turnover in the final stretch. Awesome work, Dani! Our final racer today was Crys. Not only did she push herself on the hills, but she also had a tremendous kick, too. She did a great job of using Coach Hamilton's inspiration to open up and fly down the final stretch. Great work! Overall, we placed 4th as a team for the Open Race, and 4th for the Freshman Race. That's a nice outcome considering how many people are recovering from illness or did not race today. We will use the momentum from today to propel us into some work this week. Please note the schedule on the front page of the website. I am going to try to move our picture day, but if I can't please plan to be at school at 3:35 in uniform (just the singlet and black shorts) on Wednesday in the South Commons. We should be done within 30 minutes. More importantly, Friday is our Second Annual ZBXC Jamboree! The weather should be beautiful! Please plan to run a bit, then enjoy some food and bonding! Please make sure you fill out the form that Anderson sent out via Remind so that we can plan food. We ask that you bring something to share to make the event even yummier. We had a great time last year, so please make time to join us! LAST NOTE: It is important that we take good care of ourselves this week. I want you all feeling great for our one and only home meet on the 12th. Please make sure you are washing your hands before eating, getting 8 hours or more of sleep per night, and fueling/hydrating for success! Wednesday @ Lake County Invite, hosted by Grant This invite has been at Waukegan for quite some time, which is a delightfully short drive of 10 minutes from ZB. I was admittedly caught off guard by how long it took us to get to Grant's Athletic Complex on Wednesday, and my mistake led to our Varsity Crew having a rushed warm up. I'm sorry, women! Thanks to the teammates who grabbed their bags from the bus so that they could maximize their warm up time, though! As we huddled up before the race, I could feel the tension from these bees, and I asked them to let it go and just race. When the gun sounded, the temperatures were definitely warmer than what we enjoyed in Zion before we boarded the bus, but I'm proud to report that our crew handled that, the rushed warm up, and the competition with bravery. Lauren was our leader today, and she did a great job of getting out strong. She moved around the mid-teens all race, looking great up the hill each time. She finished disappointed with how she felt in the last part of the race. I have had the luxury of time and some perspective, though. On this hot day, she matched her time from last season at the JT Invite on the same course. That meet is three weeks away! Additionally, Lauren had really kind conditions that day: we didn't run a full team, so there was no team pressure; the weather was absolutely perfect (go back and look at the Week 5 Race Blog from last year); and she didn't have a rushed warm up. To match that time from last year is really exciting, considering she didn't feel great in the race this time. On Thursday at the end of practice, we had a good talk about the race, but I'm hoping that this added perspective will allow Lauren to use this race as a jumping off point for our upcoming races! Proud of your grit, Lauren! Rachel was our second bee today, and she looked gutsy! She got out well, pushed the hills like a champ, and had a great finish! I can't remember why she did not compete at JT last year (were you sick, Rose?) but I know she went crazy at the Regional at the end of the season. She was only 24 seconds off that Regional time--impressive! More importantly, I like how she simply raced today despite the aforementioned obstacles. Keep up that gritty racing, Rach! Fia was our 3rd bee, and she showed us so much growth in this second race. She is starting to let go of the "I'm afraid to make a move, so I'm going to stay competitively comfortable" mindset and replacing it with confidence in her training. She told me last week that she wanted to beat freshman Fia, and she is doing just that each week! For this race, it came in the shape of pushing the hill, catching people in the last 800, and pulling on Rachel in the latter half of the race. Proud of your newfound gutsiness, Fia-Fia! Brionne was not far behind, looking happier and healthier than at Deerfield. She posted a season PR by racing hard and working to catch Fia. Each time I saw her, she looked locked into the race. Proud of your finish, too, Bri! Nice work! Last year at this time, Jana--our 5th and final scoring runner--wasn't even eligible to race yet because she had not added up enough practices yet. To see how she raced today compared to last season is just impressive! Such growth! Liz was our next bee, and it's clear that this respiratory junk is just that: junk. Although Liz has been feeling better, our sport is ALL about oxygen, and I could tell that she is just not processing oxygen at 100% yet. That being said, I was really impressed by Liz's racing today. She looked great after the first 800, and her effort on the hill was fantastic every time. I think it was her last time up that she did such a great job accelerating around the turn onto the flat. Despite being sick, her time beats all of last year up until the Lakes Sunset Invite, which is in October. She is well ahead of last year (as I predicted to her when we talked in Oshkosh...). Proud of your growth, Liz! Cheyenne was our 7th finisher for the day. Like Liz, she has grown SO MUCH since last year. Despite a sore knee, Cheyenne fought hard today. She looked strong after the first 800, and her hill work was so powerful! I like how she worked the down hill heading into the woods in the last loop. Like Liz, her time is VAST improvement from last year, and she did not run close to this fast until the Lakes Sunset Invite. That growth is important--proud of your commitment to breaking out of your comfort zone, Chey! Aniya was our final bee today. I know she was not satisfied with her race, but I am proud of her gritty racing. She did not roll over in this race, despite not feeling like herself. She kept pushing to catch people, and she looked so strong on the hills (a recurring theme today for our team!). We are going to figure out what's going on with her health, but in the meantime, proud of your fight, Aniya! Overall, our varsity squad took 10th out of 15 teams. I am confident that some of the teams who got us today will not be able to hang with us later in the season when we are healthier! We also need to start working on our 1-5 split. Check it out here. Look at the graph on the right. If you roll your mouse over each bar, you can see the time difference between each teams' 1st and 5th runners. We are green in the middle. You can see that we were close to Lakes points-wise, despite one of their runners winning the race, because their 1-5 split was not great. That's an area that can help our team score this season! I am confident that we will improve here--I just wanted to make you all aware of that stat! Our bees in the open race had cooler temperatures and the luxury of seeing their teammates attack the course. At the 800, Anesa was our leader, looking so strong! She is really starting to figure out racing, and she did a great job at the longer distance today. Her hill-form was absolutely on point! She looked like a sprinter for sure! Her third time up, she did a great job of extending her push past the hill, passing even more runners as she made the turn! Excellent work, Senior/Freshie! Speaking of freshies, Alivia ended up being our first finisher. I love that she is growing as a racer; she trusted herself in the second half to to catch people! I love even more what Anesa said about it on the bus: Anesa shouted out Alivia for the second half of her race. I want to underscore that message: NEVER EVER stay behind someone because she has beaten you before. EVER. Your job is to run as fast as you can on the given day, regardless of what your competitors or teammates are doing. You should NEVER EVER think that there has to be a special order! Ok, rant over. Nice work, Alivia! Norah had a similar race strategy: she got out well, and then she picked people off in the second half of the race. She did a nice job up the hills, and she had a great kick, too! Proud of you, Norah! Great work in your first 3-miler, Norah! Juliana was our fourth finisher today, and she looked great! She and Norah (aka "Sunglasses Crew") worked so well together in the first half of the race. Juliana did a great job of working the hills, too! Proud of you, Juliana! Alisia and Mary finished within a second of each other as our 5th and 6th finishers. Mary did a great job of working up to Alisia's spot so that they could finish in sync! On the last hill, Alisia had a slight lead, and Mary charged up and worked the loop to catch her! Despite being a more challenging course, Mary ran a new PR by over 20 seconds from last week at Deerfield! Impressive growth, Mary! Alisia did a fantastic job of using her long stride to attack the hill and zoom her finish! Proud of this duo! Tyla was our next finisher. She was within seconds of her time at Deerfield--nice work! More importantly, she did a great job of using people in the race to push her in the latter stages. Great kick, too! You've got some speed, Tyla! Proud of you! At the start of the race, Jazmin and Annie worked together for the first 800. Jazmin kept a super-even pace, working up on competitors and looking so speedy on the hill. Jaz also had a sweet kick--nice work today, Freshie! Joi moved up in the race, using Jazmin as a key! She did a fantastic job of calling on her summer strength to zoom up the hill. She also did a great job of opening up her stride for the final kick. Her mile pace today was FASTER than it was at Deerfield when she only ran 2 miles. Impressive, Joi! Annie was our next finisher. Like Joi, her pace per mile was FASTER than at Deerfield. Both of these freshies are showing how trusting your training and showing up each day will allow you to grow as the season goes on. Awesome kick today, too, Annie! Proud of you! Like the freshies before her, Sasha also ran FASTER per mile than she did at Deerfield. She also had such power on the hill! I can't wait for her to really see how powerful she can be! Impressive kick at the end, too, Sasha. Keep it up! Cici was our next bee...talk about growth! She ran 3 MINUTES FASTER than she did on the same course (but 3 weeks later) last year, despite getting over being sick this week. Cici's race shows that running is cumulative! Every step she has taken has brought her to this point and made her stronger as a runner and teammate! Proud of your racing debut as a sophomore, Cici! Dani was our next bee, and she handled her first 3-miler with grit! She looked SO STRONG on the hills, and she did a fantastic job of using the downhill heading into the woods. As her fitness grows, I know she will start trusting herself even more! Proud of your race today, Dani! Our final bee was Crys(tal). I don't want to call her Patient Zero for this back-to-school plague we have all been experiencing, but she certainly was an early adopter. Despite hanging onto a cough, she did a great job of working through her first race of her high school career! I know it was intimidating to start with a hilly 3-mile race. She handled the challenge so well! She used her teammates to motivate her, and she used her gritty mindset to get her to the finish line with a zooming-fast kick. Awesome work for your debut, Crys! Overall, this group placed 9th as a team. How do they figure out the scores, you ask? Well, if you look on athletic.net here, you can see that each of you have a place next to your name. They take the first FIVE Zee-Bee finishers, and add up their places. That creates the team score. For an official XC race, the first seven racers are the official team. The first five create the team score, and 6 & 7 act as "pushers." They can push up an opposing team's score by finishing ahead of one of their scoring 5. They also act as alternates in case something happens to one of the scoring 5. Let me know if you have any questions about team scoring! Overall, I came home super-happy about this meet. The racing was great, but more importantly, the vibe was right. You were all encouraging one another, and the shout outs on the bus were fantastic: you focused on growth and grit! I feel like we are starting to come together as a team. Let's keep that bond growing by leaning on each other in future races and workouts. We will be back at this course again later in September. I cannot wait to see the growth when we return! In the meantime, know that you have some proud coaches! Rescheduled on Friday @ Deerfield with Hersey, Mather, & Warren:
After a weird week of HOT weather and concussion testing, we finally had the opportunity to test ourselves against other teams. I was SO excited to see how we would stack up after a really impressive summer of training and a particularly strong week this week (I'm still smiling about everyone's effort on the grass 800 loop on Monday). When we left ZB, the weather was cool and the skies were overcast. Although it was humid, I was optimistic because it was nowhere near as hot as the previous two days, and the lack of sun would feel good! As we drove south, the skies became more and more blue, and the temperature crept up. Our 2-mile girls had the toughest conditions of the day, but they handled the newness of racing and the warmth of the sun with grit and grace. During the warm up, I could feel the good vibes from this group, and their races continued that trend. Highlights: To quote some of the guys during shout outs, Anesa just looked STRONG. In her first XC race ever, Anesa was the ZB leader from gun to chute. She did a nice job of testing her summer fitness and setting an assertive tone for our crew. Alivia was our second finisher, and she did a fantastic job of "growing" in the race. She went out more conservatively and picked off people in the second half, finishing only 12 seconds behind Anesa. I would love to see these two work together in our next meet! Despite missing much of the week due to illness, Liz looked like her senior self as our third finisher. She was still battling congestion, but her summer strength took over to help her take 3rd for our team. I look forward to seeing her race at full-strength if this is what sick-Liz can do! Norah was our 4th finisher and looked great despite starting late due to competing with the Razzle Dazzles in England only two weeks ago! Her middle school experience kicked in today, and her actual kick was fantastic, too! As she becomes more racing-fit, it will be fun to see what Norah can do with her teammates! Cheyenne was our next bee, managing some rude knee pain that came on this week. We will get to the bottom of it so that she can show off her Oshkosh and summer fitness! That being said, she was instrumental in helping our newbees manage their pre-race nerves and learn the course. Abby was our next bee, smiling the whole way! This kind of energy is important for our team. She showed everyone that racing is fun, and she worked hard in the second half to catch people. Nice job, Abby! Alisia was our next finisher, looking fantastic throughout the race. She did a great job of using the crowd to fuel some mid-race surges, and her kick was fantastic! Jazmin was only seconds behind looking SO STRONG. During shout outs, several people mentioned her even pacing and strong look--nice work, Jaz! She also wins best moment of the race when she high-fived the official who was trying to direct her to the finish! Joi and Annie worked so well together today, finishing only seconds apart. Joi's strength from the summer helped Annie who was managing some heel pain this week. These two freshies fed off each other throughout the race--nice work! Sasha and Deisy were our other duo. The finished within hundreths of a second of each other, challenging each other throughout the finish straightaway. These two helped each other in the last mile, too. I love their energy and look forward to seeing what they can do over 3 miles! Our final bee was Dani, who showed off her positive mindset today. With 300 to go, she opened her stride, feeding off the cheers of her teammates. She also had a great kick in the final stretch. She has come so far in the past two weeks, and I cannot wait to see how she looks in another two weeks! Overall, this VERY young group promised they would work hard an not walk today. While other teams did not live up to that mindset, ALL of these women did, despite the hot temps! While I am very proud of their races today, I am really excited to see how they supported their teammates during the 3-mile race. That kind of energy matters, and it fuelled our women and men to great performances. NICE WORK, WOMEN! Our 3-milers really stepped up today, too. The weather was not much different for this race, but these bees did not let the rude sun deter them from their goals. Lauren got out hard and looked fantastic today. Not only did she do a great job of challenging herself, she also worked on other runners without the help of her XC buddy Riley. She was gutsy, and it paid off with a huge jump from last year's performance, running 47 seconds faster! That growth is despite having dance lessons four days this week. I am proud of her courageous start and gutsy finish. Nice job, junior! Rachel had a big performance as our second bee. Like Lauren, she showed off tremendous growth since last year--66 seconds faster! More importantly, Rachel really took some risks. Although she was by herself, she kept her composure and worked to catch people in the second half (once she figured out where she was in the race!). I am really pleased with her effort and cannot wait to see her race again! Nice work, Rose! In a big moment as a racer, Fia was our third bee! Not only was she significantly faster than last year (she was not in town for Deerfield, but she ran 81 seconds faster than her first race from last year!), but she more importantly LOOKED GUTSY. She told me she wanted to beat freshman Fia, and that she did. Freshman Fia was preoccupied with time and worried about looking bad when taking risks. Junior Fia went after other runners in the final 400, passing several and helping her team. On the bus, she was outspoken about shout-outs, too. This new fire is what I have been waiting for! Awesome work, Fia-Fia! Brionne was our next finisher, and she followed the same pattern as her teammates: She ran 61 seconds faster than her 3-mile opener from last year (she only raced the 2-mile at Deerfield last year after coming back from injury). For perspective, her Deerfield 2022 pace for 2 miles was 7:45; her Deerfield 2023 for 3 miles was 7:18. That shows how much work she put in this summer and how strong she is! She was also battling a rude stomach while accomplishing this improved time! Proud of you, Bri! Speaking of growth, Jana rounded out our scoring 5 today. Last year, she wasn't even ready to race at Deerfield. Her first race was at home where she ran 26:58. Today, she ran 3:05 faster, finishing in 23:53! That drop is a testament to her hard work this summer! What an impressive effort, Janalise! Proud of you! Sporting big shades, Juliana was our next finisher. During track, something clicked for Juliana, and it definitely showed today. Last XC season, Juliana just didn't get what it took to be great, but she gets it now. She stepped up to the 3-mile race and ran a HUGE LPR! She ran 1:48 faster than she did at the end of last season. I cannot wait to see what she can do this season with this locked-in mindset! Proud of you, J! Speaking of proud, what a day Aniya had! She ran 20 seconds faster than her effort last year at Deerfield. What a testament to all the hard work she put in during the summer! I loved watching her kick, too. Form looked great, and her turnover was speedy. Awesome effort, Aniya! When Mary joined us on the first day of XC, I was excited to see her smiling face. She was a curious, hard working member of our track team last year, and I had no idea that she planned to run XC. She has been such an amazing addition to our team in just two short weeks. Her positivity and desire to improve shows every day, but it was showcased in this first race. I love that she wanted to run the 3-mile "to get used to what we will race all season." I love it more that she helped Tyla so much during the race! These two worked together so well, challenging each other to NOT settle. Proud of you, Mary! And Tyla? What a difference a year makes. Tyla didn't make it in XC last year, but she is a different athlete this year. She is feeding off of Joi's experience from the summer and Mary's energy in order to compete like a veteran! SO proud of your growth, Tyla! Keep it up! These two finished only milliseconds apart, and I can't wait to see what they do in the next race. Eva worked with these two for much of the race, and I'm so proud of her for stepping up to the 3-mile. Not only did she run significantly faster than at Bee Linked (over 4:00 minutes faster!), she also ran much faster than her 3-mile opener from last year (5:29 faster!). Like Juliana, she has a different mindset than last year, and I am here for it! After managing a sore toe all week, she rocked this race. Proud of you, Eva! Tati is a returning runner, too. Mid-week, she messaged me asking if she could switch from the 2-mile to the 3-mile. I love that mindset. She knew that she could handle the longer race, and she took on the challenge! Last year, she averaged 10:50 pace for 2-miles. This year, she ran 2 seconds faster per mile for 3 miles! That is GROWTH! So proud of Tati's calm presence on the starting line and tenacity during the race. Keep it up, Tati! Overall, this group was just plain gritty. Overall, we competed well with these tough teams. I like our odds when we see them again. You can check out how we stacked up on athletic.net. Click here for this meet's results. This website is a tremendous resource. Click on your own name to see how you progress throughout the season. A quick note about beeing linked: This weekend we basked in the concept of beeing linked. On Friday, Class of '23 grad Estrella came to support us in our first meet of the year. Not only did she lend her voice of encouragement, but she also brought treats for post-race! It was so good to feel her calm presence and positivity. Thanks for your support, Estrella! On Saturday morning, former Coach Lorie Wynn (Reid) from the class of '11 surprised us with a visit before we headed up to Parkside for practice! As I mentioned on Saturday, Coach Wynn started out as a person who wanted a t-shirt and grew into such an important leader and contributing Varsity member; she did so through consistent hard work. After college graduation, she gave back to the program by volunteering for several years before she moved out east. We miss her knowledge and drive but were overjoyed by her visit! Finally, at Parkside, I saw a familiar face run by--it was no other than Chris Rojas, Class of 2011. She was a co-captain with Coach Wynn, and was an important backbone to our team over her four years of running. What a great surprise to literally run in to her at practice! That's a lot of linked energy in one weekend, and I'm all for it! When you get to a tough spot in your race, remember that GENERATIONS of ZBXCers have felt that same doubt or discomfort, and they are sending you all their good energy and faith so that you can bee your best. #linkedforlife This week, let's build on this great start. Let's take some new risks on Wednesday at Lake County on this fun course! Please take care of yourselves: consistent sleep, consistent fueling and hydrating, and consistent positive mindset! Plan ahead homework-wise for Wednesday. We will likely get back at 8:30, and the meet is NOT an excuse. So talk with your teachers on Monday so that you can take care of business this week! We also have TWO meets, which means you need to take care of your bodies and minds twice as much. Don't forget to order your ZBXC 2023 Team Gear! The seniors believe in that slogan: Work today & thrive tomorrow! |
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