STARS @ Lakes & Sterling!

Veterans--bee patient with me as I fill in the newbees about us and stars:

In 2019, our varsity crew qualified for the Sectional as a team after a long drought. It was a magical season of hard work, love, and care. The week of the Sectional, we drove to the course for practice. On the way home, I asked the chicas to share their big dream goal for the coming race. Kaila Luell, class of 2020, said she wanted to race so hard and finish so empty that she would see stars. That Saturday, Kaila ran so hard that she nearly didn't make it to the finish line. In the last mile, I could see she was in trouble, and I implored her to slow down her breathing and relax her shoulders. But Kaila only knew go, so she kept pressing hard. About 100 meters from the finish, her legs gave out. She got up and fell several times, completely exhausted. She did not give up, though:  she dragged herself across the finish line for her team. 

While I never want any of you to get the point where you are hyperventilating in a race, I share this story because Kaila gave it all. All season, she led the team with grit and grace, modeling what she expected of her teammates. After initially being hesitant to become a runner as a younger athlete, by senior year, she wanted to give nothing but her best every race. She was such an important role model to her little sister Audrey as well as the rest of the team. While I'm sure she wished that she could have had a PR to match the grit of her race, the symbol of a star was born. When her sis qualified for State two years later, breaking a multi-decade drought, we covered her State shirt in pink stars. And the following year, our varsity uniforms donned a pink star between the shoulders, signaling strength and connection to the past and future teams.

Ok--back to this blog!

After weeks of incredible practices and gritty races in the heat, I knew you were all ready to see stars thanks to some good weather. Yes, I could see you were ready, but I didn't expect the extent of your stardom!

After driving several hours, our Sterling crew piled out of the spirit bus to warm up while Coach Hamilton and I checked athletic.net to see how our other half was doing at Lakes. The splits started popping up, and we yelled to the lunging Varsity girls that the race was off to a GREAT start. By the time it was all over, we knew that the Bronze racers had seized the day:  not only did they embrace the fun course, but they also capitalized upon the outstanding temperatures (Finally, Mother Nature!). My eyes were surely bulging out cartoon-style as I looked at all of the HUGE PRs. 

Later, I had the chance to look at all of the stats to see just how monumental the day was! Charisma was our first finisher of the day. She kept her streak alive by setting a sweet new PR. Her previous best of 27:11 at the tricky Mundelein course was an achievement to be sure, but her fresh PR of 25:06 reflects her hard work in recent workouts! Not only did she drop nearly 2 minutes, but she also ran a gutsy race, going out in 8:21, holding on in 8:24, and emptying the tank in a final mile of 8:11! What a day, Charisma! Congrats on a huge race! Sofie was our second finisher with a solid day. Her hip has been bugging her, and it seems as though it was an issue in this race. Courageously, though, she worked on her third mile to make it her fastest of the day! Nice late race focus, Sofie!  Candy was our third bee to cross the line today with a huge race! She set her LPR this season at Deerfield, running a sweet 27:06. At Lakes, she skipped right over the 26s to post 25:32! She ran a super-even race, pulling with Charisma and showing off her earned fitness from this summer and season. So proud of your gutsy race, Candy!  Like Candy, Eva ran such a great race at Deerfield, setting a new LPR of 26:53. She battled some sickness as well as some small injuries, but stuck around or better than her PR from last year. Today was a huge breakthrough, dropping 31 seconds and running strong with Charisma and Candy for the first mile. Sweet race, Eva!  Proud of you! Nathaly rounded out our scoring five today, with a big SPR. She ran her race a lot like Charisma--even for the first two miles (packing with Lili and Yaritza), and then a big push for the last mile. Her third mile shows that she is ready for an even bigger race at Conference, and I can't wait to see it! In the meantime, congrats on dropping 53 seconds for this SPR! Huge!

Lili was our sixth bee for the day, and man did she have a day! Like many in this race, her LPR was established at Deerfield. Today, she dropped 21 seconds to earn a new one! She did a great job of getting out well with her pack, sticking the second mile, and taking a risk in the third. What a great last loop! Congrats on the new LPR, Lili! Yaritza had a fantastic day, too. She got out well with her pack, and she stuck the next two miles. Her hard work this summer is paying off with a super-consistent race. Her grit resulted in a nearly TWO minute LPR drop! Holy cow! She skipped right over the 28s to land at 27:09. Whew! Proud of you, Yari! Cici was right behind Yaritza. She has been patiently waiting for her times to drop after a great summer of hard work. Today was her day! Not only did she beat her Conference time from last year by six seconds (which was an epic race for her!), but she also dropped nearly a minute from her time at Dawson this year. How impressive! Her fastest mile was her second, but honestly, this was a really even race. Like Yaritza, she was locked in the whole way! Proud of you, senior! Carla got out hard with Cici for the first mile, taking a big risk! After several races of being "stuck" around the same time, Carla was only two seconds off her LPR today! Awesome work, Carla--proud of you! Divonalynn was our next bee to earn a big LPR! She got out well, leading Jocell through the mile. She did a great job of sticking between her 2nd and 3rd mile in order to drop nearly a minute off her previous best from her great race at our home course. Proud of you, Divonalynn! Speaking of Jocell, she has been battling a rude hip, but she didn't let it bother her today. She got out well with Lynn, then really pushed herself in the second half of her race. She locked in to drop a whopping 3:17 from her great race at Dawson! What an improvement! So proud of your growth, Jocell. Don't forget how far you have come since that first week--you represent what patience and hardwork can create! Our final racer today was Jasmine. This was her first complete race of the season after her knee bugged out at JT. She did a great job of getting out strong, locking in, and finishing strong! Her last mile was her best--awesome focus, Jasmine! Now she has a starting point from which to grow. Keep working hard, Jasmine!

It was so fun to watch my phone blow up from Cici, Eva, Tolliver, and Anderson. And then when Cici sent the group photo, I knew that the vibe was right. I was so happy to see the genuine joy on everyone's faces!

 After hearing about all these incredible races, our Varsity crew started their light workout on the Sterling course. The temperatures felt good, and the vibe was perfect. Our six seemed to be perfectly in sync as they took off out of our box and headed to the woods. When Coach Hamilton and I found them again at the bridge, they were smiling as they shared about seeing a pack of deer. We took our traditional team photos on the bridge, and then they took off to finish the loop. While practicing their starts and finishes, Coach Hamilton and I kept smiling at their goofiness and energy--smiles that would continue through stretching, dinner, the pool, and bonding. The same goodness permeated breakfast as well as the bus ride to the course.  

And when these six took off, I knew that they had the confidence of all the success of their team from the night before, and I knew they had the love for each other needed to do big things. Just like everyone at Lakes, they stepped into that opportunity in a big way! Our "A" race set up was simple:  take a risk in the first mile, stick the second mile for the team, and eat in the third mile (goal to catch at least three). 

Coming out of the woods for the first time, Rachel was sitting around 10th with two Sterling runners hot on her heels. About 10 spots back was the rest of our scoring pack: first Liv, then Arwen with Norah and April in tow. Then came lil' Nani with the next pack, looking powerful in black. I asked this crew to take a risk in the first mile. Much of it is downhill, and I knew that they were ready to run fast. These women took that goal to heart: they came through so speedy! Rachel was 7th in 6:13; Liv, Arwen, April, and Norah were so tight that I didn't bother to write down individual times--they all came through around 6:34; and Kyranni? She risked herself to a 6:55 first mile! I was over the moon, texting Hamilton as I darted back across the field to see them come out of the woods for the second time. We were both going crazy about how tight the pack was! 

Rachel was in a weird spot coming out of the woods, as 1-6 in the race had separated from the rest of the racers; she wasn't with that pack, but she also wasn't with the one behind her. She did an outstanding job--sick and all--of locking in the black and orange jersey ahead of her, working hard for her team. Arwen and Liv emerged next, stride for stride out of the trees, looking SO LOCKED IN that I got chills. They were in t-shirt earning territory in the mid teens! Before I could even yell at them, Norah was charging out of the woods, looking so dang strong and pulling on her girls. April was not far behind, pulling on the power of Norah's pink sleeves. Our 1-5 split was the closest it had been all season at this point in the race, and I nearly lost my mind. When Kyranni popped out of the woods, I was so joyful watching her battle with two girls in orange. I was too nuts to try to get two-mile times, so I just headed to the stretch before the woods to see if we were meeting the second mile goal. As our pack headed into the woods for the final loop, Rachel was still sitting in 7th, but two girls had started to close the gap, as had Arwen and Liv, who were doing SUCH a good job of pushing each other. Norah was still pulling on these two, using her long stride to make up time on the downhill. April came around the corner looking so strong, opening her stride to try to catch Norah. Kyranni looked so competitive as she headed in for the final loop!

When Rachel emerged for the last time, I knew that she was giving her all: her head was up, she was driving her arms, and she was trying with all her might to defend her spot. Liv was coming HARD, driving to catch Rachel and the two girls who were challenging her. Arwen looked so powerful, arms driving, as she headed up the hill in Liv's wake. Before I could finish yelling at her, Norah was on me, driving home. And then I whipped around to see April flying up the hill, arms pumping! I frantically wrote three-mile times (yes, Sterling is sticking with this 5K thing...), and I was astounded! We had three under 20, and Norah was only ticks away. April was mid-20s, and then Kyranni came flying up the hill to a new PR, too. 

Then it was my turn to sprint up the hill to find our pack. I knew we had run a great team race, but would our pack understand what they had done? All I had to do was see Arwen acting like Kendrick at the Superbowl:  "Wop! Wop! Wop" taking out the competition! She was SO feeling herself, and then the others started to pile together with the biggest smiles I have seen all season. They kept talking over each other, knowing that they raced so hard for each other. It was beautiful and brought tears to my eyes! Everyone had run big PRs, but more importantly, they had fun doing it. Hamilton and I started to wonder about the team points, and we frantically tried to do math while listening to the crew recount different parts of the race and mock us for our inability to figure out the scores for sure. For a brief moment, the results popped up and then went away, but we had seen what we wanted to see:  1st place for the bees! Our crew erupted again with joy, hugging one another and smiling ear to ear. 

When the results were finally posted as official, we saw that tiny number of 55 next to our name. This happened by this team racing as one from gun to tape. Honestly, other than the Regional last year, I can't remember a more complete team race from the bees. Liv kicked hard to be our first finisher (8th place) with a new PR of 19:54. Her 5K time is nearly two minutes faster than last year and a minute and a half faster than her great race at Parkside. More importantly, she worked so well with Woman King throughout the race, pushing her and being pulled by her. It was beautiful! Rachel was our second finisher in 10th with a new LPR. The longer you race, the harder it is to make an LPR happen. Rachel earned this one with a new mindset, incredible work ethic, and gritty finish. Despite being sick, she went beyond her comfort zone to run 4 seconds faster than her sophomore year in the 3-mile and nearly two and half minutes faster than last year at Sterling. OMG! What I loved most was that she embraced the team mission and fought hard to the end, COMPETING for her girls the whole way! Woman King was our #3 today in 12th. She had such a big break through today. She has been sitting at the same time in so many races, frustrated with the 21 at the start of her times. Today, she RACED for her girls, and the numbers show it. Not only did she say goodbye to 21, but she skipped right over 20 to land at 19:53! Her 5K time shows har hard she kicked at the end:  20:29. So proud of you, Arwen! Speaking of proud, Norah moved up so much in the last mile, with only one Sterling runner separating her and Woman King. She ran a blazing 20:04, a huge SPR, knocking 52 seconds from her outstanding performance at Dawson. Like Arwen, she didn't quit at the 3-mile; she finished so fast that her 5K time beat her Dawson time, too! So impressive, Norah, "Don't Call it a Comeback!" April had a big breakthrough today, too. In 24th, she nabbed the fifth medal for our squad. More importantly, she ran a huge PR--20:35. She dropped 61 seconds from her incredible effort at our home course. Like Norah, her 5K beat her previous 3-mile LPR. So impressive! Finally, our lil' freshie came through huge today. After joining us late, Kyranni had a great race at home, and then seemed to be "stuck." She was fighting hard, but her times were not reflecting her hard work. When she ran the 1000s workout last week, I knew she was ready to shine, and shine she did--like a diamond! She dropped over a minute from her previous best at Dawson. She did it by staying locked in, competing hard and staying positive. Her 5K time beat her previous 3-mile PR, too! 

Winning this invite is a ZB first. I have been coaching the bees for 29 years. We have brought home trophies at Niles, JT,  and Sterling, but never any bling for 1st place. While it feels great to take pictures with a plaque, there is nothing that will replace the joy I saw on these six faces before they knew they had one. They FELT like winners first, and I will never forget that moment!

It's important to note that our 1-5 split was a mere 51 seconds. Over the summer, Hamilton and I said over and over again that our super power this season was going to be the pack. I have some experience (although from slightly afar) with the power of the pack. When I was a sophomore, I had the privilege to race with some of the grittiest women on earth. There was no front runner on our team--our #1 runner changed all of the time. That was because our top five were so closely matched that it would simply depend on the day to see who would be first. As our #7 runner, I would see these five pack it up all the time, and my fellow pusher #6 Jen and I would do our best to make a secondary pack of support in every race. We qualified for State after winning our Sectional with what we felt was not an A-effort. We were ready to race hard at Detweiller. Luck was not on our side, though:  We were put in box #1, on the far left side (if you are facing the course). If you have been to Detweiller, you know that it's better to be on the outside because the first turn is a left. At State, all of the talent is concentrated, so the race does not spread out like at an invite. All of the outside boxes are collapsing into that turn, pinching the inside team. So my coach drew us pictures of the course and talked about this conundrum. The solution? Jen and I were going to start on the right side of our team, acting as body guards, and going out WAY faster than we normally did in order to deliver our pack to the first turn unscathed by the 200+ girls pressing from our right. Jen and I did our job, and our pack was able to run together up the first hill. By the finish of the race, they were so close that (as a reporter noted), you "could have put a blanket over them at the finish." The split? Five seconds. I didn't get to see it live at the finish, but I saw the pictures in the articles about us earning a second place team trophy. If our pack had been only 10 seconds faster, we would have won it all!

As a coach, I have dreamed of a team that could replicate this kind of team race. You beautifuls are the closest I have ever come, and we still have time left in the season to make it even better! Challenge assigned!

The cool down, photo shoot, lunch, and ride home were filled with joy (except for the missing Bezerker tree...what the hecky, Sterling???). When we got back and cleaned the bus, no one was rushing to leave that magic. I reminded the crew (and now all of you reading) this very important truth:  Yes, big PRs and plaques are so much fun to experience, but I need you to know that you are enough and you are loved no matter the outcome of any race. Always. You are loved because you have committed to something bigger than just yourself. You have faced the difficulty that is running with grit and grace. And you have learned each other's names and quirks, strengths and weaknesses. So many kids just walk through high school like zombies, heads in their phones, afraid to try something that can expose their fears and show their weaknesses. But you brave souls have stepped up week after week, loving each other, lifting each other, proving your character, and I love you all for it. 

I cannot wait for another week together. Let's celebrate this special weekend and hold it in our hearts as we move forward! SO INCREDIBLY PROUD TO BEE YOUR COACH! :)