Busse Woods Sectional

This week was a gift, and so was the Alivia's race on Saturday. She kept our streak of qualifying for Sectionals alive, even if it was a solo act. Because of her impressive Regional race, we all got a chance to have an extra week of XC!

The week was punctuated by an in-town long run plus chocolate banana muffins on Monday, a great workout on the course on Tuesday with post-practice pizza at Giordano's, an adventure run on Wednesday, fartlek on Thursday which included cute, hand-made crocheted friends courtesy of Kyranni, and one more day of birthday cake-sprinkle pancakes on Friday morning after a peaceful morning run. That's a lot of food! :) I am grateful to the men's team for their support all week long as well as the women who helped Liv on each run. 

On Friday, Liv and I talked about the race. We agreed that she still had more in the tank and that her game plan should reflect that: go out hard--not with that initial pack, but definitely at the back of the second pack; focus on passing in the second mile; keep her signature last mile strength. She was so at ease with this plan, and I was happy to see it! This race was a chance to make a statement! I asked if she was nervous, and she said no--that this season, she had really worked on having fun and enjoying the whole process. 

On Saturday, we packed a bus (thank you, bees!) and headed to Busse Woods. Thanks to our driver Ken, the ride was smooth, and we arrived to see still trees and sun trying to poke out of a cloudy sky. Like Tuesday, the course was in fantastic shape. 

When I returned from grabbing Alivia's bib number and chip,  I was excited to see that Alivia was electing to go full pink for the day:  top AND her own pink shorts! After her solo warm up, we headed over to the starting line for dynamic. Our extensive crowd was ready for breakdown, and their loud breakdown helped Liv get hyped for her race.

On the starting line, Liv looked ready to race, with a sweet spot on the outside of the crowd--a straight line as her guide. At the gun, Liv go out SO WELL. She looked fantastic heading into the trees. I waited for her on the first downhill, and I'll be honest; she was so far up in the pack that I totally missed her. Libertyville's coach yelled to me, "Man, she is out FAST!  Is that good?" I smiled wide and replied, "YESSSSS!" Liv was right on plan. Later, she reported that her first mile was around 6:10--her fastest of the season. Norah later shared a pic with me showing Liv racing with Libertyville's Julia (18:52) and Lake Zurich's Polina (18:24) after the first mile. Sweet! 

In the second mile, I saw Liv working up the hill, but something looked off. I encouraged her to take a deep breath and stay awake in the race. She clearly was struggling a bit with her early pace, but she was fighting hard. Going down the hill, she looked open and more locked in. 

I waited anxiously for her to come back to the top of the course for the last time. I could see that she was not having an A-day at this point, but I was so proud of the way she was fighting through it. Going down the hill for the last time, she seemed to have found a second wind. When I caught her one last time with 200 to go, she looked like the Liv we all know and love: she was kicking hard and catching people. Although the time was not what we talked about, it's important to keep it in perspective: she ran 30 seconds faster than last year, and 1:15 faster than freshman year! What progress! More importantly, this race represented all that I hoped for: she took a risk and put herself in the mix. Now that she has gone into that first-mile territory, she will be able to hold it longer in the future. I am so proud of her courage and grit! You heard it here first: I anticipate that Liv will hit the 18s next year--I can feel it! 
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I hate that the season is over, but I am so wildly optimistic about this coming track season and next xc season. I am excited because the vibe of this team was so positive and connected, illustrated by the bus full of peeps who wanted to support Liv, watch great racing, and enjoy a celebration together after the meet. I am excited because of the conversations I had with people about Polar and Track and XC. Most importantly, I am excited because I can see how much you love each other and love running. That combination allows for great things to happen!

Overall, this season was a joy, and while I am going to miss the 2025 iteration of ZBXC, I look forward to celebrating the season at awards night on November 12th. Until then, thank you to each and every one of you who came out on Saturday. I appreciate you all! <3

EDIT: After talking with Liv, I want to add a section on stress management!  Prior to the meet, Alivia said she was not feeling any nerves, so I mistakenly did not talk to her about that issue. On race day, however, she said she woke up nervous (understandably!)

Nerves are a normal reaction to any "stress." Obviously, Alivia wanted to do well on race day, but she did not have the normal routine of warming up with her teammates who were experiencing the same jitters! Listed below are many techniques you can use to help manage nerves for any situation:

1. Visualization:  BEFORE a big event (test, race, speech, whatever!), walk your brain through the event. Picture the location, picture yourself, and SEE it unfold the way you want it to go. Imagine what could go "wrong" and how you would fix it (for instance, in a race, how would you manage the situation if you fell?). Visualizing an event can help your brain rehearse so that on the day of the event, your anxiety doesn't kick in. 

2. Stick to routines:  If you always eat a certain breakfast or listen to a certain song or wear a particular pair of socks, then keep those routines! Our brains LOVE patterns, and keeping things as "normal" as possible really helps keep nerves at bay. If you know something will be different (staying in a hotel, different race time, etc), plan ahead to "normalize" things as much as possible.

3. Physical resets: There are several ways you can override your brain's panic center. Your brain is trying to keep you safe, and a big event can trigger a fight or flight response, flooding your body with adrenaline and other hormones that help "protect" you. That flood wastes a lot of energy that you want to use in the race, though! Here are a few resets that can get your brain out of that fight/flight mode:

• Black out! Close your eyes and cup your hands over your eyes so that your hands are not touching your eyes, but are providing total blackness for 20 seconds. I forget the percentage, but your eyes drain your brain power! Your brain is CONSTANTLY taking in visual information, which takes a lot of power! If you cut off that sense for 20 seconds, it is a huge "fuel" savings! While you are in that 20-second blackout, focus on easy breathing.
• Left-right-left-right! When your brain goes into fight or flight, your eyes get into tunnel vision, using a laser focus to "find the threat." You can use this technique in the race or before--simply look to the left with your eyes only, then slowly switch to the right, then repeat 2-3 times. Do not turn your head! By moving your eyes in a wide field, you stop your brain from freaking out. 
  
• Wonder Woman!  Put your hands on your obliques and LOCK IN to your body. Close your eyes and focus on breathing--in 3 count, and out 4 count. Really focus on pushing your breath OUT slowly. Feel your abdomen expand and contract in your hands. If you think of something else, say hi to that thought, then let it go. Circle back to your breathing. Go for 60 seconds to reset! 
  
• Paper! Researchers have proven that writing how you feel helps unlock your brain from panic-mode. Simply write what you are feeling: I'm really nervous about this race because I don't have my team, yet I want to do well. Something about the physical act of writing on paper AND acknowledging a feeling allows your brain to let it go! 
• Touch! We huddle up before races because being close to people and actually physically interacting reduces our stress. Did you know that people who share a a room with another person OR pet sleep better than people who sleep alone?  We are pack-oriented, and the pack helps our brains feel more at ease! Feeling stressed before a race? Ask a teammate to squeeze your hand or shoulders. Feel comfortable with the person? Ask for a hug! It helps lower cortisol, our body's main stress hormone.
  
• Speak! Never be afraid to tell someone how you feel. Here is a good example:  "Hey Coach/Teammate--I'm really nervous about this race because I want to do well." Notice that it doesn't sound like complaining. Like the writing exercise, you are framing your stress in a positive way. It is normal to want to do well and to feel nerves as a result. Saying it out loud can relieve that pressure valve. The person can tell you back, "Valid! We can do this together, though!"
  
• Memory!  Remember your "why." Instead of letting jitters get the best of you, think about your your journey. Picture a key workout that makes you proud. Picture a person who helped you achieve a goal. Keep replaying specific details--how you felt, how the person helped you, etc. Make it real in your brain. Then tell yourself, "I've done hard things before, and I can do them again!:
  
• Smile! We have talked about this one before, but I'll say it again--you can trick your brain into feeling happy even when you feel otherwise. While you are putting on your spikes, put a pencil in your mouth to force a smile. No pencil available? Use a go-to joke like 6-7 or use your finger/hand/arm/spike wrench/bib number, etc. The act of using smile muscles makes your brain think you are happy, thus there is no threat to be amped up about.
  
• Thank you! If all else fails, remind yourself that it is OK to be nervous. It's actually a great sign that you CARE! Thank your brain for the extra adrenaline rush to help you with your start of the race!​