Bill Dawson Invite @ Warren

I always look forward to this meet. The atmosphere is always festive with music rocking in the stadium, shave ice refreshing the fans and runners alike, and fast times reinforcing all the training. Several years back, this meet was renamed to honor my good friend Bill Dawson, long-time coach at Warren and all-around good human. He loved cross-country, and he loved watching athletes grow. He also loved hosting this meet because he was proud to provide a fast and fun meet.

This week, I looked at the weather forecast for Saturday so many times that it started to get a bit silly--nothing was changing!  It was going to be hot. We have not been to a fast course since Deerfield, and I wanted everyone to feel the joy of a fast, flat race in order to feel the benefits of all the hard work we have been putting in. We can only worry about what we can control, though, and so far, I have not been able to control the weather (although it DID feel like I had a line to the weather gods last spring when we dodged not one, but TWO storms when we hosted the NSC for the women and the men in successive weeks!). 

On the bus, we talked about some team history and specifically stars. Our gear had come in, and all those stars on the logo had me feeling nostalgic for 2019 when senior Kaila Luell vowed to run so fast that she would see stars at the first team sectional race in six years. That team was so much fun to coach. Like this year, there were six seniors. Like this year, there was a strong junior class. And like this year, the young pups had a mix of talent, optimism, and green! After breaking a six-year team drought of qualifying for the Sectional, we drove down mid-week to check out the course and bond. On the way home, I asked the girls to set goals for the upcoming race. Kaila went first. In her thoughtful way, she simply said, "I hope I run so fast that I see stars." When she said that, everyone knew what she wanted--to walk away on empty, without regrets, knowing she had given EVERYTHING to the girls that she loved so much. What a powerful thing to say as a senior! Her race did not go exactly to plan, but she certainly gave her all, literally crawling across the finish line. The week before, she ran a significant lifetime PR at the regional. More importantly, she shepherded her nervous sophomore teammate, Natalie Fig, through the stressful race to help us secure the 6th and final team berth to another week of XC. This is why stars are such a big deal. Some of our ZB stars have been super fast record-breakers like Audrey Luell (Kaila's baby sis who was a freshman on that same team) and Riley Franz (who wouldn't join us until the following year), but ALL have cared DEEPLY about growth and their team. They thought about the whole rather than individual glory. They were not afraid to dream big. They were not afraid of hard work. And they certainly were not afraid of being uncomfortable.

Today, I saw that same mindset from every single runner. It was so much fun to watch! 

Our freshies and sophies started things right today. Alex, April, Janelle, Candy, Yaritza, and Dani ran so fiercely--it was great to watch! Alex was our first bee, despite fighting a stomach bug earlier in the week. She got out hard--her fastest opening mile and not far off her single mile PR!  7:09!!! She raced hard and earned a new LPR of 22:59--her first time under 23! I KNOW Alex is going to keep peeling off time this season, and I cannot wait to see it. I'd like to make a side note that I asked Alex if she wanted to run in the Varsity race today. She worked so hard with that group all summer, and I knew that she had what it took if she chose that option. She wisely chose to run in the F/S race, and I love that she made that choice. She knows that racing is a mental game, and after being sick, she wanted to feel confident in another F/S race today--brilliant choice! April was our second finisher. She ran a different race than Alex, starting more conservatively but BUILDING the whole time. She caught 16 people throughout the race, and her first and last miles were nearly identical. This tells me she is ready to race even faster, and will beat 23 very soon! She ran a huge PR--dropping nearly 2 minutes! Awesome work, freshie! Janelly-nelly was our next finisher with a gritty race. As the girls on the bus said, she had her game face on the whole time. She got out hard and finished equally tough. Her kick was beautiful! She also ran a big LPR in the heat, dropping 15 seconds! Proud of you, Janelle! Candy was our 4th bee, and man did she have a heck of a day. She is a different runner compared to last year--completely locked in and pushing to grow! She broke 30 for the first time today, and she did it by pressing the whole time. When she entered the stadium, she found a new gear, zooming past competitors who were sleeping. She dropped 1:11 as a result of her consistent effort. SO proud of you, Candy! Way to go! Yaritza was our next bee with a great race! She is starting to figure out racing, and it showed today. She dropped a whopping 2:53! She is going to break 30 soon--I know it!  Awesome work, Yaritza! Dani was our final bee, and she is a big reason that Yaritza PRed by so much. Dani is a veteran now, and she knows how to pace more evenly. She led Yaritza for most of the first mile. This teamwork helped Dani, too, because she dropped a big season PR today--shedding 1:10! She did this by catching 7 people in the second mile--the toughest part of the race. She is inching closer to her lifetime PR, and I know it will happen soon. Love your teamwork and grit, Dani! Overall, this group SET THE TONE for our other racers. I was so pumped after this race!

By the time Varsity was up, the temperatures were rising, but that didn't deter our bees. I asked the girls to be smart in the first mile, and then attack for the rest of the race. We discussed using the shade to our advantage, and that is exactly what this group did. Lauren was our first finisher today. She got out smartly with the lead pack, and she didn't back down from these competitors. She did so by running a super-even race:  6:03, 6:23, 6:10. These splits tell me she is ready to pop an even faster race when the temperatures are cooler. More importantly, they show that she didn't lose any fitness when we gave her foot a rest a week ago. I loved watching her push down the go-zone mini-downhill, and shrugging off nerves to show who she really is as a racer. She was only two seconds away from her LPR from Sterling last year, so I am excited to see where she goes from here! Proud of you, Lauren! Fia was our second finisher today, and she was the epitome of second-half strong. She got out well with Norah at the start in 6:46. In mile two and three, she caught a ridiculous 26 racers. That takes such mental strength and grit! Her last mile was her fastest, which makes me think that she can get out even faster in the next race when temperatures are more mild. Her kick was impressive, and her placing helped us have a great team race. I KNOW she is ready for a big race, and I can't wait to see it! Awesome effort, Fia! Norah was our third bee, and like Sofia, she caught people in the second half of the race, knocking out five in the second mile and four in the final. She had a BEAUTIFUL kick, zooming to ANOTHER LPR! She broke 21 for the first time, chopping 20 seconds from her previous best. I'm really enjoying having her come up to me post race, seeing her smile and simply say, "I ran another PR!" Let's keep that trend going, Norah! Keep pulling on Fia! Jana was not far behind Norah. Like Fia, she had a monster second half, matching Fia's crazy 26 people caught! Like Norah, she also broke the 21 barrier, and it was so fun to watch! Her kick was so powerful as she fought her competitors to the mat. Having Jana SO CLOSE to Norah is clutch--we have to keep that kind of connection as we head into next week! Like Lauren, Jana's race was incredibly even, so I'm going to pose a challenge to her for Tuesday--hammer the second mile and trust that you will be able to bring it home. I KNOW you can own the woods! In the meantime, bask in this 16 second PR, and know that I am super proud of your gritty race! Alivia rounded out our scoring with a monster race, too. She ran a very strong and even race, hammering away at the competition in the second half and earning a big SPR by 12 seconds and saying goodbye to the 22s! More important than time, though, was Alivia's racing mindset. This kid devoured the competition, catching 5 in mile 2 and 12 in mile 3! The most impressive part was watching her kick--definitely the best of this race. She whipped around the final turn and ATE seven sleepy competitors. She looked SO dang strong coming across the line--I could not be more proud of her gritty effort today! Way to go, Liv! Arwen was our 6th bee. She made me a promise that she would give her all and leave the dramatics at home, and she was a woman of her word today! She got out hard--maybe a smidge too hard in this heat--but she did not punk out in the second mile...she just kept fighting for her team. She bounced back for a great final mile, catching three competitors. Her early surge helped give Fia, Norah, Jana, and Liv a visual to pull on in the second mile. Her fight in the last mile helped Juju run a great race. And all of it added up to a 4-second PR. I know she will say goodbye to the 22s in the next race! Proud of your fight, Arwen! Très fort et très stoïque! Je suis très fier de toi! Our final bee was a late addition. Rachel has been fighting a knee/adductor frustration, and she was unable to join our crew today. Juju stepped up to help out our squad, and she looked unbelievable! She had a gutsy start, looking poised and assertive. She has not gone that fast in a first mile yet, and the risk paid off with a new LIFETIME PR, dropping 21 seconds from her best race last year (also at Dawson!). This was a huge drop for this year, though; she bested her SPR by 1:11. More importantly, she knew that her experience last year could help her team, and she stepped into the spot. I could not be more proud of her courage today! Overall, we took 10th out of 19 teams. More importantly, we bested Mundelein, Vernon Hills and Cary Grove--all teams we will need to beat when we return to Warren for the Regional. I think the stat that makes me most proud is that as a TEAM, we moved up 4 team places during the race, and caught a total of 43 racers. THIS IS who we need to be for the remainder of the season: strong from the start and hungry in the second half. Only one other team--Cary-Grove--had similar stats, and we beat them handily. These seven set the stage for our Open Bees!

I am most impressed by the grit of the Open Women. The temperatures were HOT HOT by this point, with the needle in the 80s, and not a cloud for cover. This group was not going to be intimidated, though. On the starting line, Sophie was our leader in this race, getting out hard and holding her position throughout the race. Any time someone tried to catch her, she fought back, holding strong at 34th place. She had such an impressive kick, too, using her long legs to zoom to a huge season PR by 1:20 and matching her freshie LPR to the second! She was so impressive in this race because she had her game face on the whole time. I loved watching her push through every go-zone today. Proud of you, Sofie! Mary was our second finisher with a great race, too! She got out well and caught 5 people in mile 2! Her kick was so inspiring--she opened up and used her arm drive to push her to a great race! She was so close to her lifetime PR, and I know she will smash it when she gets cooler weather. Way to fight through the heat today, Mary! Proud of you! Tyla was our next bee, and she looked so strong today! My favorite moment was watching her whip onto the bike path for the final time, using the momentum of the turn to fuel her push to catch competitors. She never backed off today, and she had such a powerful kick! She caught two people as she rolled to the finish, and it was beautiful to watch. Awesome work, Tyla! Sheila was our next bee, and she had an outstanding race today. Like Mary, Sheila caught 5 people in the race, 4 of which were in the last mile! She looked like her track self today, fighting hard despite the heat. Her arm drive in the final kick was outstanding, and it earned her a huge season PR of 30:33, a nearly 3:00 drop! In the heat of the day, this is such an impressive stat! Proud of your race, Sheila! :) Finally, Tati had one heck of a race today. Our team has suffered from several different viruses these past few weeks, but Tati managed to find one that lingered. She told me that she felt like she could race today, though, and that she did! Like Mary and Sheila, she also caught 5 people in the latter miles. If you saw her kick, you know a couple were in the last 50 meters. Despite feeling sick in the last 300, she summoned her senior strength and went to her arms, driving home beautifully! Her finish was such a great way to wrap up the day, and I could not be more proud of the GRIT she displayed. Way to go, Tati! Overall, this group was so positive and gritty--it was awesome to watch. 

Don't forget--this race was timed per mile, so you can check out all of your stats here at PT Timing (click on the menu on the left to get to your race, and click on our team score to see how our team stacked up in each race). These stats can be helpful in seeing where you should focus your attention in future races! 

Last, but certainly not least, shout out to Rachel and Camille for their positive energy today. These two were EVERYWHERE despite their injuries, fueling our bees with great energy. I know it is hard to watch rather than race, but these two set aside that frustration and just poured into their team. I appreciate you both! You showed that there is ALWAYS a way to be a positive contributor, even if you are not physically able to run. The shout outs on the bus prove how much every cheer means!

Let's have a great week!  We have so much to look forward to:  Racing at home and honoring our seniors as well as racing at Grant--a course that has been good to us!  We will enjoy cooler temperatures this week, so please remind me that I want to pass out team warm-ups on Monday so that you can all be cozy! Cooler temperatures help our bodies run harder. It turns out that researchers have determined that people who stay cool the best are usually the fastest, as body heat is a limiting factor for speed. Want to learn more about that? The Science of Sport Podcast is super nerdy, but fascinating (well at least to this nerd!). You can check it out here:  https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-science-and-art-of-good-running/id1461719225?i=1000659426043