directions_run Run • Sept. 21, 2024, 7:32 p.m.

-essay ahead- Richard spring invite day. I’d say I have very little negative emotions regarding this race, but I’d like to walk through it and reflect a little bit. I’ll be taking a page from Matt’s book and separating my log into sections. I. Pre-race My preparation for this race was near perfect. Went to bed at 9:45 last night, had a great dinner, lots of electrolytes and hydration. This is probably my first time doing as much prep as I did so I should model the rest of my pre-races as such. Had lots of fun this weekend and got some really great bonding time with the team. I really hope I get to do other things like this in the future; I feel like this is one of the best weekends I’ve had. Ever. II. “Bang!” Before the start of the race, I felt calm and collected - still struggling with the tape on my nose, splashing cold water on my face and arms. It was at this point I chose to let the two faster soph pairs start ahead of me in the box. I believe I paid dearly for this but it was honestly the right thing to do. As the starter gun rang out (a different sound than I’m used to - a welcome surprise), I opened my stride and got out relatively hard. Apparently not hard enough, since I slowed down significantly about 400m in, squished by many cannon fodder runners; however, with momentum depleted, I managed to retain some position around the turn. The rest of the first mile was a catch-up lap. I turned a corner near the mile marker to hear coach Westphal (disappointed, something I haven’t seen before) telling Bart and I we were waaaay too far back. Other than some quick opportunities I took, Bart and I passed people relatively slowly. III. The Burn Around mile 2, I began feeling intense oxygen debt and muscular fatigue. Either from the heat or my complete lack of energy leading up to the race, my body refused to take me as fast as I needed it to - I began to gas despite my best efforts. I started to think of how disappointed I’d be after the race was over. Slightly panicked by the growing unrest in my stomach and a vision of a failed race, I settled into a dangerously slow pace. Bart passed me here after sticking on me for the last 2 miles. Hoping I’d get my lungs back, I attempted to hold onto the rapidly thinning pack. I wasn’t going to give up quite yet. IV. Handicap 300 Nearing the very end of the race, the cheers of my teammates spurred me onward into a faster clip. I started to abandon my timidness and began forcing my body, if not my mind, to use up every last carbohydrate of energy I possessed. At the tree that marked the 300, I broke free of my bounds. I have no idea how many people I passed during the finish. I nearly collapsed after I passed the mats. V. Mixed Feelings After I regained some sense, I found my mom - who I explicitly asked not to show up since it would psych me out. She came anyway and hid among the crowd, unsure if me seeing her would make me feel guilty. I feel really lucky to have a mom like that. I met up with the rest of the sophomores and received an in-depth analysis of how we did from coach Westphal. Im not gonna lie, I expected a lot worse due to how I raced but a lot of stuff was probably withheld from us. I probably deserved that outcome. Overall, we ran well as a team, but Bart, Noah and I raced somewhat poorly - not from a pace standpoint but from the competition’s. I didn’t PR, but it doesn’t even matter. I think this was a great learning experience for me and an amazing memory to carry all throughout high school.