Week Two: Home vs. Grant & Wauconda Invite

9/4/2012:  After practicing on our course a couple of times recently, we finally had a chance to race at home.  We had several women run some great races:  Lindsay ran out of her mind...setting a lifetime PR of 22:24 (nearly 1 minute faster than her time on our course at Conference last fall); Yareli sliced off 8 MINUTES from her best 3 mile PPM time; Violette looked MUCH better than at Deerfield, shaving 6 minutes from her time; Angie also PRed, improving by 3 minutes and looking very competitive; Syra joined Angie in shedding 3 minutes from her PR; Maira, like Lindsay, ran a lifetime PR on our course, cutting 1 minute from her Conference race last fall.  For many, this was the first time racing 3 miles, and overall I was impressed with the results; I saw most of you work hard around turns and work to stay with each other.  We ended up with a win against Grant:  23-37.  The win is nice, but we still have work to do, especially on the middle mile.  I know that it will come, though.  Click here for splits (sorry--some are missing).

Thursday Practice Note:  For many of you, this was your first time experiencing Paavo's Slow Interval workout.  I was so impressed with how easily you all jumped into the process, despite the lack of watches.  I was really pleased with the times, efforts and overall feeling from the workout--you ladies are awesome!  :)

9/8/2012:  Wauconda Invite:  I decided to have everyone run in their grade-level race to change things up and try to win some bling today.  The frosh/soph women started things off right with a tremendous team race.  In our pre-race talk, we agreed to be more mindful of the first 400 meters of the race in order to be more competitive in the second loop of this challenging course.  Our pack got out well (*side note--Diana got tripped up at the start, but like a soldier, popped right back up into the race!), and our sophie trio of Alexis, Ana and Ally came through the 800 close to each other in the high 30s place-wise.  Rachel and Karli were close behind.  At the mile, Alexis had moved up to the low 30s and looked strong.  By the time I saw her again with 800 remaining, she was in 14th place and looked great!  She out-kicked two more girls for a 12th place finish and a nice medal.  Ana, Ally, Rachel and Karli all brought home ribbons from this race, too.  Of the 15 Bees in this race, 13 (Alexis, Ana, Ally, Rachel, Karli, Sam, Monica, Jennifer, Iris, Olivia, Violette, Yazmin, Alexis) ran faster than on our shorter home course on Tuesday--that shows that you newbees are learning how to race and are willing to hurt to turn in great times.  Nice work!  As a team, we finished a respectable 9th in this strong field. 

The Varsity women could not help but be pumped up after hearing about the success of the Frosh/Soph race.  Joseline, Bug, and Kimmy started strong--all dipping under 7:00 for the first mile, with Maira and Lindsay close behind.  Joseline was the most consistent for the day with pretty even splits, with Lindsay having the best recovery in her third mile split.  Overall, I was very pleased to see the progress all five of these ladies have made since Lake County:  Lindsay dropped 2:21; Bug dropped 1:29; Kimmy dropped 2:48; Joseline dropped 1:29; Maira dropped 1:45.  What a difference a week makes!  I know they will continue to peel off time--this group is hungry for improvement. 

The women in the Open race agreed that they would be the "dessert" of the day, and their pre-race prediction came true.  Riley, Karolina and Peyton got out very well and were in great position at the 800, followed closely by Tori and Paris.  The Jasmine/Jazzman combo were in pursuit of the main pack, too.  Stephanie had a dramatic start--running a 9:06 for her first mile--a PR!  Heading into the second loop, I could see that everyone was looking strong--I watched several ladies work to reunite with teammates and pass others.  With 800 remaining, I was impressed how most of you used that nice downhill in the field to gear up for the final push to the finish.  ALL 10 of you (Riley 1:19, Peyton :29, Karolina :52, Arranda 1:13, Paris 1:13, Tori 2:09, Jasmine 1:52, Jazzman 1:24, Lydia 1:42, Stephanie 3:11) ran faster than on our shorter course on Tuesday.  I'm speechless!  Again, this improvement shows that as you learn how to race, you are willing to endure the pain in order to improve.  I can't wait to see you all race again!  Click here for all the splits from Wauconda.

I am really impressed with the way the team is coming together, too.  Special thanks to our split takers for the day:  Robin, Neida, Marlen, Angie, Erin and our sticker-woman, Halie.