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Lots of Sneezes!

October 29, 2016 (Afternoon)

Exercise Type: Run

Comments:
Ah, Derwood again! I don't even know how to put this day into words. It was absolutely incredible, and I am so proud to be a part of this team and sport and community and be able to call all of you my teammates! Every single person on this team is extraordinary, and I think it's so beautiful how even though we're not all best friends in daily life, we come together for this mutual love of ours and support and love each other so much in this extremely demanding sport.

I was excited when we got to Derwood and not too nervous. I walked the warmup with Joyce and Bita because my shins hurt, and then we had the perfect amount of time to stretch and then get ready. On the line, I got a bit more nervous because I realized that Christina, who was my racing buddy at 3rd battle, wasn't there and I didn't know who to race with. I talked to Leah, and she agreed that I'd be sort of in between hoppers, but to try to catch up to Ellie during the second 2 miles. The race started, and I tried to go out with Ellie because I was doubtful that I'd be able to motivate later in the race to catch up to someone I couldn't see if I was alone. She went out fast though, and I couldn't stay with her, so I ran the first 3/4 of a mile on my own. Didn't feel too bad though! Happily, in the valley after the first big downhill, Bita caught up to me, and we ran together for a while. She was having trouble because her shins were hurting a lot, but she pushed through the pain magnificently! We passed some people together, and encouraged each other while we panted along. Before the hairpin hill, we caught up to Ellie and Gigi, and the four of us ran the hill together. I was really worried for it, but felt so much easier than I remembered it. We saw Anthony during it and he said, "Wow, that's all I have to say. Wow!" which was very encouraging! After the hill, Ellie and I pulled away a bit, and finished the race together, also panting out encouragement. I felt like maybe I wasn't racing as hard as I could if I could encourage teammates that much, but I was in a good bit of pain so I think it was ok. The last hill was hard, but I saw Polly cheering and gave her a huge grin because I had no idea she was there. Felt like I should have kicked more, but really wasn't able to. Finished in 27 flat with Ellie just behind me.

I'm happy with this race, but as much as I don't want to, I can't help feeling a little sad because I ran 25:33 here last year. I know I was in much better shape then, and I've had a lot more preventing me from reaching that level of training this year, but it's still hard not to compare myself to my past self a bit. I really am happy with how I raced for the circumstances though, and I'm glad to try the course again in 2 weeks. It was such a fun day after my race screaming my head off for people in other races, and petting cute dogs, and eating baked goods, and just enjoying the beautiful Saturday with so many people that I love so much!!! It was so nice to see Matt (and Mark) but I haven't seen Matt since camp, and I had a nice conversation with him that made me hopeful about my shins. I'm so proud of the team--of how much work we put into this sport and what we look like when we race because of it. Yesterday, it was hard not to be a tiny bit disappointed that we didn't win, but honestly today, I couldn't care less. What matters so much more than that is the dedication that everyone puts into running and the beautiful team that results from it. I love you all so much, and could write so much more (which I may do at some point), but I'll stop now so I don't crash running-log or something