Senior Night @ Home vs. Lake Zurich & Warren

Tuesday @ Shiloh Woods
We have been running at Shiloh Woods since the 2011 season. I love our course because it allows us many advantages:  We practice in the woods to eliminate the "Twilight Effect" that many feel during the middle of the race--falling asleep where there are no fans; we know how to attack the hill in the "Sectional Loop"; and we e know how to shift in the last 400, including down the hill. 

I was excited to have us near full strength. For weeks, we have had bees who were out of town, sick, or injured. This was the biggest group who was going to be on the starting line, and I couldn't wait to see how we would react with each other. Once the gun sounded, I headed to the 800 mark at the Sectional Loop to see how we were fairing. Rachel had a great start, looking confident. Only a few seconds behind came Woman King, Liv, Juju, Norah, & April. These five were within steps of each other, and I was over the moon! Kyranni (in her racing debut) was just around the corner after a gutsy start. Sofie came around the bend looking strong, shortly followed by Fernanda, Eva, and Celene, who were working well together to push hard. Nathaly had her eyes locked on this group, pulling hard up the hill. She acted as a guide for the trio of Lili, Charisma, and Carla. Side by side, these three looked so good! Courageously, Temi pulled on this triumvirate, using their guide to pull her along. Around the bend, Divonalynn, Cynthia, Dani, Cici, Yaritza, and Kailey looked like a Darwin line, pulling on the strength of the bee ahead of them. Jocell and Ingrid rounded out our racers for the day, looking strong coming down the other side of the loop! 

I darted to the pool, watching our bees work along the duck pond. I am proud that coming into the woods, EVERYONE pushed around that turn, pressing to catch the people around them. Although our packs were not as tight at this point, we were still pulling on one another, grittily working for one another. I wanted to see finishes, so I didn't get to see everyone cross the road to the 2-mile, but Candy was there after her doctor's appointment, encouraging our bees along. 

I am so stoked about the finishes today. Not only did we do a great job of accelerating at the 400 and 300 marks, it was fun to watch you all catch another gear down the hill. Overall, the racing was superb with everyone taking risks and embracing the race techniques.

I was frustrated that Mother Nature didn't help us out with better turf conditions so that your times could accurately represent your effort. The rain over the weekend did not soak in as quickly as I had hoped. The duck pond as well as the stretch along the pines and into the finish were spongy. While that cushiony ground feels nicer on your feet and joints, we need the ground to give energy back when you hit it in order to be efficient. Spongy earth just soaks up your energy, making it harder to race fast. The proof was in the times:  on a more firm ground, I think you each would have been at least 10 seconds faster. Keeping that "conversion" in mind, the times you all ran were impressive!  Rachel narrowly missed the Top Ten Board by a second.  Liv, Arwen, Juju and Cici all ran season bests!  Even more impressively, April, Fernanda, and Divonalynn all ran LPRs! Wowza! Ingrid and Kyranni ran their first races of the season, looking great in their debuts! 

After racing, we headed to the band shell to honor our seniors:  Rachel, Woman King, Juju, Sofie, Eva, Nathaly, Cici, Carla, & Cynthia. I am grateful to the team for making great posters and showing the love for our seniors--thank you all! And I am grateful for the wisdom of our senior crew--many of whom have dedicated four years of their lives to the team. Let's keep that energy heading into the second half of the season!

FYI, both Warren and Lake Zurich took us to task. They are at a different place than us right now, and they outscored us for the day. While that fact is humbling, I know that we have tremendous upside:  we have many team members who are rapidly learning how to race more effectively while building their aerobic engines. I can't wait to see what we can do as the season progresses!

Quick note: I don't have time to do a full entry on our workout from Thursday, but I do want to note how proud I am of our team. You embraced the purpose of going "negative" by getting progressively faster, and you used your teammates to make it happen. That workout showed what you are capable of! And you will start to see the benefits as we head into the JT invite next week. Don't forget that key workout!