Tuesday: The way you conducted yourselves during this competition made me so incredibly proud. Several individuals stepped up BIG TIME in order for things to run like business as usual: Bug was more than a captain as she directed the course walk, warm up, drills and pre-race huddle, all despite still battling the stupid plague. Halie was invaluable at the finish line, organizing finish cards and collecting the final results. And the team in general? You handled what could have been an awkward situation with tenacity and grace. I received an email from the Lake Forest coach this week--he and his team were both impressed by your sportsmanship and thoughtfulness. Kudos to you all, and thank you for your support from the bottom of my heart!
When the gun went off, I walked to the back of the course so I could watch the race unfold. I enjoyed watching you guys from that vantage point: I saw lots of competing and some set ups for great kicks. With 300 meters to go, we were beating Stevenson. Unfortunately, I could not see that we lost some key positions in the final meters of the race, so I did not realize that we had lost until after we were on the bus. While I would much prefer a win, I care more that we learn from this race: never forget that the spot you have, or the girl you could catch might be the difference between a medal or nothing...or the difference between a team trophy or nothing...or the chance to race at Sectionals or have the season end too soon. That being said, there were several stand out performances for the day: Alexis finally put together the race we knew she could when she set a lifetime PR of 20:05 by running with confidence; Angie, although still not satisfied with her progress, ran a lifetime PR of 25:06...a nice drop from the short Warren course time she ran only days before; Sam ran a lifetime PR too in 25:18; Peyton ran a lifetime PR of 23:37--an 8 second drop from last year at Conference!; Haley finally felt strong enough to race a full course, and it was great to see her out there; Iris ran a lifetime PR, dropping 16 seconds from her Warren time; Joseline ran a season PR of 21:22, but more importantly looked confident the whole way; Leslie dropped a whole minute off her lifetime PR, despite battling some medical issues this week. I am so impressed with her courage to race! Riley looked super-strong while running her season PR of 24:22, a drop from Warren's short course. And Yareli rounded out the PRs by running 30:16. In addition to some great times, I also witnessed some milestone performances: Erin and Marlen each completed their first 3 mile races today! Thursday--I have to make a quick mention of our workout today. I was so pleased to see the teamwork and tenacity from each of you. This workout should be one of those moments you mark in your log as a season-changer. Not only did you endure the physical demands of the workout, but you also worked through the surprise mental demands with poise and determination. I was especially proud of Jennifer for her impressive work ethic, and I was SO happy to see Halie running again! Remember this day, ladies! Saturday--Well, after several weeks of drastic improvements and a "shortened" week due to a Tuesday race, I thought we might look a tad flat on Saturday...unfortunately my prediction was right. Mother Nature was not on our side as the winds howled and the temperatures refused to rebound from the overnight chill. While all of these factors certainly affected our performances, I hope that no one walks away from this meet feeling ok. True athletes perform despite the conditions. There were a few of you who rose to the occasion: Yareli ran a lifetime PR by knocking 1:24 off her previous best in the Frosh/Soph race. Karli, despite an angry achilles, ran a courageous race. I moved up several F/S women to the Varsity race for today with mixed results. Ally truly stepped up and ran a solid race--she got out strong and looked confident the whole way. She ran a season PR of 21:31. I know that she can work on that final mile to improve her race even more. Kimmy and Joseline also ran solid races, but like Ally, will need to continue to improve in order to get to where we want to go by the end of the season. The Open Race showcased the best performances of the day. Bug and Lindsay went out strong and looked confident throughout their races. Lindsay finished with a big kick to bring home a ribbon in 22nd place. Riley ran a breakout race, running a LIFETIME PR of 23:41--18 seconds faster than her Conference performance from last year! Marlen dropped almost a minute from her time on Tuesday to set a new lifetime PR of 30:21! Erin, despite losing her shoe in the beginning of the second loop, also dropped time from Tuesday to set a new lifetime PR of 34:08. Click here for a link to the meet results to see how you placed.
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