Photo by John Olson of scrunners.com
Hi everyone! I can honestly say I am so excited to write this journal. I really think I could talk on and on forever about my experience this past weekend. Crossing the finish line, knowing I earned a plane ticket to San Diego, was the best experience of my life. I don’t think anyone can understand the excitement I faced when I crossed the line. I had been dreaming of this moment my entire life. However, I never, ever thought it would happen. Last year, I crossed the line in excitement, getting a 20 second PR. However, I was 111th place in the seeded race. That year, my goal was to not place last. The emotion I felt when I crossed the line this year was all because of how far I’ve come.
So, since I mentioned my finish to everyone, I want to go backwards, explaining not only the race itself, but my preparation in the weeks leading up to it. Two weeks ago, I was writing a Milestat journal to reflect upon my experience at States. I submitted it, asking Brandon if it was the last one I was supposed to write. He wrote me back saying that he would rather me wait until after Footlocker, saying that I may have some good news to share after the race. I thought: what if I don’t make it? On paper, based off of times, I had a good shot. That was motivating for me. But in reality, I would have to realize that there would be a large handful of girls fighting for the same spot. The people who race the best on the given day are the ones who make it. I knew the task was going to be hard. However, in the back of my mind, I wanted to get top 10 so badly. Even though I had had an amazing cross country season, I felt like there was something left to prove.
I did every workout between States and Footlocker with so much effort. I always work hard at practice, but I would really place emphasis on the final part of each tempo run or interval. I knew I had to fine-tune my closing speed. I don’t want to go into detail on every workout over the two weeks; however, there is one that I really remember. It was the first workout I did after States. I did it on my own at UVA. I had 5x1000 repeats that I did around the park, a series of soccer fields and softball fields. It was raining and getting dark outside. I was so cold and wet, but all I was thinking about was Footlocker. I would finish each 1000, imagining myself going around the lake at McAlpine Park (the Footlocker course) on my final stretch to the finish. After hitting my times, I realized I was ready for the race.
After a fun Thanksgiving with my family, we left to go down to Charlotte on Friday morning. I can honestly say that I was not nervous. Before States I was very tense, but now I was so relaxed. That evening, I went to the course with my Dad. He ran the whole thing with me, just talking the whole time. I felt fortunate that my Dad was more than happy to run with me, as I was there by myself. Even though he didn’t seem tired after the jog, he claimed I ran him to a PR. I felt like I was ready to follow with a PR of my own the next morning.
Suddenly, Saturday morning was here. I was ready for what I thought would be my last race of the season. Although my team wasn’t there as a whole, Katie Farina and Killian O’Connell came down to run. Killian ran in the Senior Race and Katie was in my race. We warmed up together, getting each other pumped. Arriving on the line, there was hardly any room, as there were so many runners in the race, all fighting for that spot to San Diego. Somehow I managed to get out of the box well, not getting tripped up too much. Everyone took it out so fast, not too my surprise. I simply got into the top 20 or so. The pack was pretty big as we hit the mile. At this point, I felt pretty good, but knew I couldn’t make a move, as the pace was still pretty fast. Then, the “big hill” came up. I was getting close to the halfway point and was in about 8th place. I emerged onto the path going around the lake. The two mile mark was not far. This was the point in the race when I was really questioning myself. I crossed the bridge, thinking I only needed a pack of three runners to pass me for me to lose my spot. As with all races, a lot can happen in the final mile. Like I said, everyone wants to get top 10, and everyone was chasing me down. I shook out my unconfident thoughts and focused on maintaining my form through the woods. There weren’t a lot of spectators at this part, only other runners. I was distancing myself from the pack of four in front of me. I knew I had to get back up there with them. However, I didn’t know if I could. Then, I heard someone come up beside me. It was Sophie Chase, a fellow Virginia runner. I knew we were both fighting for top 10, but I knew the coolest thing would be for both of us to make it. I was so tired at this point, but I told myself to stay with her and work together. I wanted her to have a good race as much as I wanted to myself. That said, I murmured, “We’ve got this” to her as we neared the 4K mark. She responded, “I know”. At that point, I felt like I had regained strength. Together, we were gaining on the pack in front of us. We were now on the lake, meaning we had about 600 meters left in the race. At that point I forgot about everything. I just knew that no one was going to pass me. I was not going to let that happen. My mom, who was cheering near the start of the final 600, told me I was in 7th, following that comment by saying I had to go, that people were chasing me. I was in so much pain as I neared the finish, but I didn’t give in. My dream of qualifying for nationals was now a short 100 meters away. As I crossed the line, I couldn’t help but smile. It was the best feeling ever. All of that pain was more than worth it. Then, before I moved too much from the finish line, Sophie came in right behind me and we hugged and congratulated each other. We were so excited and happy to not only qualify for Nationals, but qualify with a “teammate”.
The next couple of hours were great. I was taken to a tent immediately after the race with all of the other finalists (top 10 finishers). The atmosphere in the tent was incredible. Every single girl was so happy to be there. It seemed like they were all thinking what I was, that all of their hard work had paid off. We were told to fill out questionnaire sheets and turn them in. Since everyone was tired, we had designated writers to do the writing for us. I turned the offer down, insisting to write myself. However, I was the very last person to finish filling the forms out. Maybe I could’ve used the writer. After interviews and loads of congrats, I finally got to my parents, who couldn’t believe what just happened. I thanked them so much for all their support. Then, I cooled down with Sophie Chase and my teammate Katie Farina. Then we had the awards ceremony. Standing on the podium with the top 10 was amazing. Everyone seemed so happy. When I thought the ceremony was over, I was wrong, they had another award left to give out. It was the “team” award. The teams were made up of the top 5 finishers from each state. Team Virginia ended up finishing second! It was really exciting to see how many people ran the races of their lives. Our top 6 runners--me, Sophie Chase, Hannah Lowery, Crystal Nelson, Molly Breidenbaugh, and Katie Fortner--were all under 18 minutes.
After the awards ceremony, I said my final congrats to everyone I saw who raced. It was great to have all of the runners from Virginia united. Everyone is so nice. The ride home with my family was great, as I couldn’t stop talking about my race.
Before I sign out on my ninth entry, I would like to further congratulate all of the runners who chose to run at Nike in Cary the same day. The WAHS boy’s team went, having 10 or their 12 runners earn PRs. Derek Armstrong had quite the race, finishing one spot out of the qualifying position. Furthermore, I wish the Midlothian boys, Annie LeHardy, and Haley Cutright the best of luck in Oregon. Again, thank you everyone for your amazing support. Sophie and I are so excited for San Diego and we will be sure to let everyone know how it goes!
