Quad #2 @ Libertyville w/Stevenson & Waukegan

At Adler Park
I love this course. It is true cross-country: a mix of grass, gravel, dirt, hills with twists and turns. It weaves through trees and runs along the river. In another month, ALL of the trees will be golden and red and stunning. This course is also the opposite of fast, so we focused on race tactics today. Our goals to have an A-Day: 1). Pack it up with our training group for the first mile. 2). Pass like crazy in the second mile. 3). Press HARD in the last 400. Despite the dusty air and Bertha trying her hardest to keep us from our goals, we persevered in all three goals today, and it was cool to watch. 

In the first mile, our packs were mostly a success. Our varisty pack was in spitting distance of one another through the mile. The same was true of Pack 2--Juju was slightly ahead with Mary, Tyla, Sofie, and April tightly packed behind her. Pack 3 was in a line by the time the mile came, but they could see each other:  Nathaly, Eva, Sheila, Mel, Candy, and Cici. Pack 4 was working hard to stick:  Dani, Nathaly, Saleema & Valery. 

In mile two, I was so impressed by everyone's grit! Even people who said that they didn't catch anyone bragged that they held people off in this middle stretch. I couldn't see everyone in the woods, but I really loved watching people emerge and use the downhill to the river to zoom! Juliana, Tyla, and Candy stood out to me in this stretch!

But it was the final 400 that impressed me most. To a woman, I watched you all reset and zoom down that little hill to meet Bertha with GRIT. In particular, Nathaly T., Sofie, and Cici really took the final 400 challenge to heart. I could not see the effort up Bertha nor the final stretch from my 400 post, but the numbers say a lot to me: EVERY group ran significantly faster in the last 400 than their average mile pace. Group 4 averaged 11:30 miles overall, but everyone was under 10:30 pace for the last 400. Group 3 averaged 10:20 pace overall, but their last 400 was at 10:00 pace. Group 2 averaged 7:45 pace per mile, but their last 400 was 7:10 pace. And Group 1 (Varsity) averaged 7:20 pace, but their last 400s were 7:08 pace. Those are some sweet stats!  

In year's past, we have approached this course with too much trepidation. I was proud of our veterans for stepping up to allay people's fears and for the team to embrace the race tactics rather than focusing on times. The shout-outs on the bus ride home left me so optimistic about our upcoming race at Warren. And the moon provided some beauty as we celebrated our achievements! Proud of you all! :)