View Workout (Meghan O'Rourke)
West Park Open
October 13, 2010 (Afternoon)
Exercise Type: Run
Comments:
What a wonderful race to have right before districts! All of the successes from both the girls and guys on our team will definately help to give us the confidence we need to dominate at districts.
And now for a recap of my race:
Mile 1: Savannah and I started out at a pretty quick pace towards the front of the race. It was really cool to see the very front of the race the whole time.
Mile 2: Our chase group had gotten much smaller, as people kept falling off. I know Lila wasn't having a good race, but it was mind-boggling to me to be able to see her cute little bobbing head in front of me for the entire race.
Mile 3:I was all alone in 3rd place. I could see the Marquita girl getting slowly reeled in by me and before I eventually passed her; but not for long. In the last 600 meters of the race, she passed me again. If I had been braver and stronger, I could've stayed with her for longer, but I didn't. This is something I'm really going to have to change in the district race, where every point counts. I can't afford to be selfish and cost our team a point if I want our team to make it to state. Anyways, I saw Marquita catching up to Lila, and saw something horrible happen. Lila was going around a group of trees, but Marquita wasn't. I wanted to shout out to Lila, but it was too late, and this definately gave Marquita an advantage in passing Lila. However, this wasn't Marquita's or Lila's fault, because the course wasn't very well marked. I finished in 3rd place.
Overall, I'm very pleased with my race. I didn't get a pr, but I think that this race gave me the confidence I needed for the district race. It also taught me that if you want to race well, staying calm is the best way to accomplish that. In previous big races, such as Bob Firman and Bend, I worried way too much about the outcome of the race, and that certainly didn't help be race well. Worrying about a race isn't going to make you race any better, so you might as well remain calm about it. My best races, Silverwood and West Park, were when I stayed calm and focused before and during the entire race.
However, it's very hard not to be too nervous about districts. This is the race I've been training for since my disappointing season last year. Good luck to all my fellow teammates, and remember to run for your team, not just yourself.