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Thursday @ Deerfield with Hersey & Grayslake North After a crazy week of weather--ridiculous, triple-digit heat index as well as destructive storms--things calmed down in time for our season opener at Deerfield. I love this meet. It provides everyone what they need: good competition, a flat and fast course, and the right distance for newbees and veterans alike. 2-Mile Women: We had a small crew of 6 newbees in this race. While the nerves were obvious as we warmed up, I also felt that this group was optimistic about what they could do. They soaked in the advice of their veteran teammates, and they put it into practice once the gun sounded. April was our top finisher of the race. She did an excellent job of keying off her competitors and kicking hard at the end! She finished 18th overall and had a great first race of her high school career! Awesome job, April! Saleema was our second finisher. She started on day one of the season, and she has been making steady progress. She did an outstanding job of staying even in this race--a concept that she had struggled with in practice! I'm so proud of her effort in this race! Great growth, Saleema! Keep it up! Nadia was our 3rd bee, and she is new-new! Cousin to Victor Mares, class of 2019, she has running in her blood! She did a great job surging, fueled by the cheers of her teammates. As she gains aerobic fitness, she is going to be a great competitor. Nice first race, Nadia! Yaritza was our 4th bee with a strong first race. With new spikes and a positive mindset, she did a great job today. After our race analysis during Saturday's run, I know that she will put all her knew knowledge to work in our next race. Proud of you, Yaritza! :) Nathaly S. was close behind Yaritza, finishing as our 5th bee. Like Nadia, she did a great job of using the crowd to fuel her surges. When she learns to keep a steady pace between those go-zones, she is going to be a force to be reckoned with! Nice finish today, Nathaly S.! Our final bee of this race was Camille. She did an EXCELLENT job of keeping a steady pace in this race, using her new-found confidence as fuel after a great long run the Saturday before. She did an outstanding job of using her teammates' cheers to keep herself in a positive mindset, too. So proud of her progress since this summer! Overall, this group learned a lot about our sport. They had to endure the warmer temperatures of the day, and they did it with grit. Awesome work, crew! 3-Mile Women: We were 19 strong in this race, and there are SO many good things to report! I was stoked by all the growth in this race! Lauren started off strong, leading most of the race until Hersey decided to do Hersey things in the last mile (kudos to them--they have a great pack!). While I know that she was mad that their pack caught her, what I prefer to focus on is the growth over one year. Last year on the same course, Lauren ran 19:24. This year, she broke 19 in the first meet, clocking a 29 second course PR (18:55). That is a HUGE improvement! Shout out to her gutsy start and gritty finish! Fia was our second finisher with an equally gritty performance. Last year, she ran 20:59. This year, she confidently picked people off, racing the whole way to a 1:06 course PR. WHAT?! She has looked fantastic all summer, specifically at Garbage Hill and the Glowstick DMR at Oshkosh. I knew she was ready to run fast, but I was so excited that she broke 20 in her racing debut! Her new LPR of 19:53 isn't just sneaking under 20...it shows that she is ready for a really fun season. Proud of you, Fia! Jana was our third bee with a HUGE glow-up, too. Last year, she was our 5th bee in 23:53. Her race today showed how stacking days and believing in oneself matter! She dropped a huge LPR of 21:15, beating her Sectional time of 21:58 by a whopping 43 seconds. And compared to last year at this meet? 2:38! Whew! This race is a testament to Jana's consistency. This is why we preach attendance and putting in the work--it pays off! While those numbers are fun to think about, Jana also did an outstanding job RACING to make that LPR happen. She had an aggressive start, worked with the people around her, and had an outstanding finish. Proud of you, Jana! Rachel was not far behind Jana and looked so STRONG today. Rachel has been sick since the end of July, yet she keeps showing up and putting in the work. She thought she had finally kicked the respiratory junk out, and woke up on race day feeling stuffy again. To say that I am impressed by her grit is an understatement. Running hard is such a mental game, and trying to be a tough runner while sick is simply exhausting. She has been pushing through like a champ, and I could not be more proud of her body language in this race. She had her eyes up and her posture tall THE ENTIRE RACE. I know that she is not thrilled with the numbers, but I honestly couldn't care less about those. This race was a big moment in my eyes. She was assertive, worked on Jana the whole time, and LOOKED like the runner I know she can be. It was so much fun to watch! I am so proud of you, Rach. Way to fight! Our newbee Arwen rounded out our scoring, but I cannot talk about Arwen without Liv. Arwen might have been the most nervous (at least outwardly) out of everyone pre-race. In order to avoid a too-aggressive start, we advised her to stay with Liv for the first half of the race. Although only a sophomore, Alivia has more experience and is definitely good at pacing herself. This duo was PERFECT together. As Arwen explained on the bus during shout-outs: "I love my partner! We push and push and push!" These two challenged one another the entire way! It was so much fun to watch. I never felt like one was settling to stay with the other. Arwen finished with her signature kick in a speedy 22:04--her first 3 mile race time and LPR. Liv was only steps behind her, zooming down that finish in 22:05. Last year, Liv raced the 2-mile with a pace of 8:15ish per mile. Today, she averaged 7:21--talk about progress! She did this while coming off the plague that has been circulating, so that makes the time even more impressive. I cannot say this enough--she did it by RACING rather than worrying about times. LOVE IT! Proud of this racing duo! There was a bit of a break in our bees before Alex popped up. Alex has been consistently putting in work ALL SUMMER. She has been quietly and smartly improving by listening to her coaches and teammates. At Bee Linked, she ran 27:05. Today? 23:21! Talk about believing in the process and herself! Her growth has been so fun to watch. I know she was mad about a wrong turn, but she still had an outstanding first day. I love her competitiveness, too. Keep striving, Alex! Our next finisher was Juju. After battling a rude knee all week, it was great to see Juliana looking smooth and strong for the whole race! Not far from her LPR, Juju smashed her course record by finishing in 24:27--1:11 faster than last year! She did it like her sisters in running: she competed hard the whole way! I loved watching her surge to catch groups, and her kick looked outstanding, too! Awesome growth, Juju! Keep it up! Mary wasn't far behind Juju with a great race of her own. As a second-year XCer, she has grown so much already! It took her until Lakes last year to hit the 24s; she decided to start there this year! She smashed her previous course time of 28:03 by running a speedy 24:53. Everyone knows that Mary has learned how to improve as a distance runner by asking questions. Today, she was the veteran helping out her teammates. In the race, she did a great job pushing her pack and leading the way. Proud of your growth, Mary! Speaking of her pack, Janelley-nelley was not far behind her, pulling on Mary's experience. In her official season debut, Janelle looked so wise! Like Alex, she smashed her Bee Linked effort of 28:44, finishing in a speedy 24:56. Talk about consistent growth! What an improvement in a little over a month! I know she is going to continue to learn and improve this season--proud of you, Janelle. I feel like a broken record, but Tyla had a huge growth race, too. She did a great job of pulling on Mary and Janelle. Last year, she ran 28:44 at Deerfield? Today, with the help of her team and a stronger mindset, she ran 25:22! I cannot emphasize how impressive this is. Tyla is a new runner this year--she "gets it." She ran a lifetime PR in her season debut, dropping 29 seconds off her sweet race at the Warren Invite last year. I cannot wait to see what she does this season! Proud of you, Tyla! Sofie was not far behind in 25:28. She did a great job pulling on this group, and she nearly matched her PR from last year! I know that Sofie is capable of pushing this group, so I look forward to seeing that growth this season! This race was a great starting place--way to go, Sofie! Nathaly T. was the final woman in this pack, and she had an A-day. After taking a break from our sport last year, she came in ready to rock this junior season. Her mindset has definitely strengthened while she was away because she opened the season with a LIFETIME PR of 25:37, a 1:08 improvement since her freshie season. What growth! I am so glad that she is back with us, and I cannot wait to see how she continues to challenge herself this season! There was another gap in our bees, but that gap does not mean there wasn't growth! Tati had an extraordinary opener! She has only run faster ONE TIME--at Lakes last year. Those of you who raced at Lakes KNOW that it was a PR fest last season. :) She debuted in 28:15, a whopping 4:11 faster than last year on the same course. There is something to be said about stacking seasons of work and maturing as an athlete. Tati is ready to rock this season! I'm so impressed by her focused race and sweet kick. Awesome work, Tati! Eva was only seconds behind her, following the same pattern. Eva ran half of the summer with us after her soccer camp. The hard work has paid off. Last year, she ran 31:06 at Deerfield; today, she ran 28:27, dropping 2:39! Her mindset has become so much stronger, and it is fun to watch! She is becoming a stronger runner and is ready to have an outstanding season. Way to go, Eva! :) Mel was our next bee, leading our next pack. She has never raced the 3-mile at Deerfield, so this race was a big deal! She ran 30:57 and is way ahead of her trajectory from last year. What impressed me most was that her form looks so much more assertive. Her stride was open every time I saw her, and she just looked strong. It's no wonder her race looked so good! Nice start to the season, MelMel! Cici was not far behind Mel, and she, too, looked STRONG. She has been evolving as a runner this summer, and it is fun to watch. She is locked in! She ran a LIFETIME PR today, besting her effort from Lakes last year of 31:45. That's a 25 second improvement at the first meet! This is Cici's first time racing at Deerfield, and it was an impressive debut. Yes, she smashed her LPR, but it was the way she did it that was impressive. Every time I saw her, she was open-stride like Mel, and she was passing someone. It was fun to watch Cici run with such confidence. There is nothing better than watching a woman find her power! Awesome job today, Cici, and congrats on the big growth! Candy had Cici in her sights on the long stretches, and she did a great job of being assertive throughout. Candy came to us late last year, so she did not race at Deerfield. Already, I can see that she is a different athlete: she is dedicated to practice, and she is focused at meets. I was so excited to see her return this year! I know that this is going to be a season of growth because this gutsy race is a great indicator! Let's go, Candy! Our final bee of this race was Dani. Last year, Dani raced in the 2-mile and averaged 14-minute pace. Today, she was in the low 12s for pace for a longer race! That's growth! She has looked so strong in practice this season so far. There is nothing like the benefit of a year of perspective to help improve as a runner; Dani is the embodiment of that! I know that she is going to do big things this season! Overall, this race was fun because EVERY LAST BEE was locked in and racing hard. The times are fun to look at, but what I care about most is that we made a statement as a team about being gritty in the race. The shout outs on the bus ride home were filled with beautifully positive energy, and I cannot wait to repeat it on Wednesday when we race at Lakes. I think you all will love this course--it's a mile loop that offers turns and small, manageable hills that give your short-term focus so that the race seems to fly by. After seeing this debut, I CANNOT WAIT TO SEE YOU ALL RACE AGAIN! We have a good-busy week coming up, so I need you to take care of the following: 1. Please fill out this Google Form for the ZBXC Jamboree this Friday. The more the merrier, so please join us! 2. Get your sleep schedule right. We are racing twice, and that stupid snot-bug has been going around. Let's halt it in its tracks by giving our immune systems what they need: rest. 3. The Positive Doorway Technique. Coach Hamilton told me about a video she saw about it, and I'm in love. You can watch the explanation here or read on! The record-breaking beast of a swimmer Michael Phelps changed the swimming scene in the US and the world. It is hard to be that dominant, so he did a lot of mental training to help him stay sharp. One technique he used was the Positive Doorway Technique. Literally every time he walked through a door, he told himself a positive and true affirmation about himself. The science says that our brains attach memories to places; when we walk through a doorway to a new space, we dump our short term memory. Since a doorway represents a new place, we can replace anxious or negative thoughts with positive ones! So think about how much positive juju will be flowing through your brain pathways if you try this technique? At school alone, you probably walk through AT LEAST 20 doorways in a single day. Your brain will adopt that positive pattern and will flush out negativity. Let's all give it a try this week! Pro-tip: You can use the same mantra every time, or your can switch it up! Just make sure it's something you have actually done. Need some ideas for a phrase to say? Try this list:
Shout out to Coach Hamilton for finding this great technique! :)
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