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Flint Hill Meet: everything but my favorite race

April 21, 2011 (Afternoon)

Exercise Type: Run

Weather: the first good meet: sunny and 60s

Comments:
i was originally put in the 4xmile, 100, and 200. after my last race, i was told i was now needed in the 4x400 - surprise! it was fun, but...anthony, why did i get to run like every race BUT the 800, my favorite race, and EVERYONE else got to run it?! haha, just kidding! its probably good to not run it every meet. and this was some good training.

so, let's start from the beginning...
got on the bus, traffic traffic traffic, good nap --> HARDLY FOUR MINUTES TO WARM UP for the 4 by mile, especially since i'm the first leg! ahh! but at least it wasn't too cold outside, and i felt the support from the team. it was nice to have ben k at the start line with me.
it was a fine race, but obvious i had no idea how to run it. it was more of a quick warm up pace than anything else. as the only girl's team entered in the race, we were running with the boys. so i thought i should be careful and make sure they were ahead of me - bad choice - they shouldn't have been so far ahead of me. i forgot that i could run so much faster in that race, that its really not all that long of a race. all the laps flowed together, that you could have told me i had an extra lap to run and i wouldn't have notice. at one point i even had to ask anthony what lap i was on. my pace was so comfortable, that it was too easy to get pick up my pace before even really getting into the final turn. i guess it was a sprint, but really it was just running fast and sorta up on my toes. my form was strong, but my pace wasn't. now i know for next time what a 6:45 pace is. i was hardly tired.
did a nice cool down.

next was the 100. even tho i always think of it as my worst race, it was actually the one i went into most confident. i suppose it was the sprint work we did in practice yesterday, but i was totally ready. my competitive side was definitely on as i met my competition. i started of in the lead, but towards the end, i drifted and didn't stay so intensely focused in the last few meters. damn it! i shoulda won that! i came out of the blocks so strong and fierce - how could i have let that go? but i couldn't stay mad at myself long before being proud of my 80 meters of solid sprint. i never thought i'd be proud of a 100. i know there wasn't a ton of competition and its not like its the fastest i've ever run - but who thinks that way? ... i was totally faster than those girls, and i can hardly ever say that in a sprinting race. it felt great, amazing even.

my 200 was solid. yes, definitely solid...but...yes, there's but...not as satisfying as the 100. it didn't really bother me tho. i ran a great race, and nice to feel that i could somewhat keep up with these girls.

and then i got SOUR PATCH from the vendor!!!!!!!

then i got tapped for the 400. it was a good feeling to be asked, and i was excited - well, sorta. i was, but not sure if 400 was really my race, which was weird because if you asked me a few months ago, i'd say the 400 was one of my better races. well, i went at it strong. it was better than my mile, but my 100 and 200 were definitely stronger. i suppose i wasn't as prepared for this race, and probably starting to get worn-out, but i went at it as best i could. i went out fast, but i knew as soon as i came outta the turn i shouldda been going faster. but i kept it going and lifted into the next turn. i came out with a strong sprint, but it was more about handing the piton off than hitting some time that sounded good to me.

i'll never understand why i run - why pushing myself to the limits, why running laps for gods sake - is somehow intriguing. or, at least i thought i'd never understand. its the self confidence, the self-respect, the self-discipline, the self-satisfaction...and of course the team, the team that i know is waiting for me at the finishing line, and even there for me during the race...that's why i run.
i think i have my answer - the reason why i do this god-awful sport.
it represents my life –
why i turn off the tv and studying for a test
(why I stop being “Jo-jo-coo-coo” and train for my next meet)
why I refuse to give up on a hard test
(why I refuse to let really hard competition beat me)
why I end up listening to my parents because they always seem to end up being right
(why I have to listen to my coaches)
Why I stay up all hours of the night to finish a paper
(why I put extra torturous hours in on the track)
Well, there you have it. I have my answers. My answers to those questions I’ve been struggling with all year, and last year, and well, since 8th grade track.