In the first race, at Cuesta Invite, I ran the mile and 4x400. I was originally going to double and run the 3k as well, but a bad case of allergies got the best of me. I still PRed in the mile and run sub6 for 5:54. I ran the 4x400 leg in 74. The mile was hard. It was hot, my allergies were raging, and there wasn't any clear competition. I went out hard the first two laps and clearly faded in the third. I'm still happy. With a PR but I was definitely disappointed it wasn't lower with all the training I had been doing. And my split in the relay I knew I could pull out any day any time. I think it's my "max" speed. Haha well, it was a great day for CPDC regardless.
The 4x400 anchor
My girls!
Now for Ben Browne, this was my first track 5k of the season and the second time I ever raced the distance on the track. Latest September my PR was 21:24(ish). I went out hard, but stayed relaxed. Mando, my coach, was yelling splits every lap and telling me what to do: patience, stay relaxed, move up, catch those girls, go hard, go for it... I never was passed and even lapped people. It was one of the best track races I've ever ran. I PRed with a time of 20:04. Way more than a minute! It was so exhilarating. Especially since it was a big time meet, under the lights, in a stadium, against other collegiate athletes!
With my lovely teammates!
The next week I was to race the 5k at the cal poly invite. I was nervous as hell. It was me vs Mollee, my fast teammate, and TWO other girls from the NCAA team. Me vs three! Mollee and I stayed together the first two laps, but it spaced out a LOT after that. I was running alone, kept getting slower, and everybody I knew that ran was on the sidelines. It was crazy uncomfortable. I was pissed, I was not feeling it. I had a bad per race the night before and just wasn't into it mentally. Mando told me just to quit at the two mile mark. It was my first ever DNF. I hated that. It was so rough. I went on a seven mile cool down, a little too fast, and balled my eyes out. I was embarrassed and I felt like shit. So that race was the low of the season, but at least I met Ashton eaton and got a signed team USA shirt!
Teamwork makes your dreams work!
Next race: sfsu distance carnival. I didn't have a good enough qualifying time for the 5k, so I ran the 2 mile instead. Which is fine by me. This time, I did not look at the clock, time was arbitrary, I knew I'd pr so I didn't pay attention to it. I listed to Mando, and I raced my competition. I started off fast, I s in the second pack, which separated right at the first lap. I kept with them, maintaining my position until the one mile mark. Then I made my moves, I started to move up and pass each girl, chasing the first pack. I finished gloriously with a pr of over 30 seconds in 12:28.05. I was so happy. I got 13th overall (2 heats) and couldn't stop smiling. The race was crazy. I let in the pain and the animalistic instincts. I put myself out there. Which was shown when I was spiked and almost fell face first in the 5th lap, before catching myself on another girl.
So happy to be victorious in my OWN race!
We didn't race for a while after that. but at the beginning of April, I biked out to the 6 mi mark of the SLO marathon and jumped in. Mollee was pacing the 3:45 group and I thought that was a reasonable pace. It would be a training run. I felt awesome. I was talking and had lots of energy. Soon, dean karnazes caught up with us and we got to talking and catching up, soon I had out some serious distance between Mollee and I without even realizing it. I felt good though so I kept going. Soon dean had to stop at a bathroom but I kept charging and found a new, much more unwilling, chatting buddy.the miles clicked by and I was smiling the whole time. I laughed as I finished the last three miles at 720-730 pace. It was so great. It was basically flat, with a few rolling hills. My garmin registered 21 miles at 2:40-2:45 ish and 1000'. I felt fantastic and fresh. Even thought it was probably the farthest I had ever ran!
Making new friends!
My friend Dean Karnazes: "You inspire me!"
Post run beach nap!
The next week, I ran a 5k track race: Beach Invite, hosting by CSULB at Cerritos JC. It was my last race of the season. I tried to be competitive and kept with my pace group. We were all seeded fast. It was pr time. I felt crummy warming up but I knew that was usual sometimes. I just thought, the faster I run, the sooner I finish. I listened to Mando and I listened to my competitive nature. I welcomed the pain, and kept it within me. I had my best friend Taylor giving me splits and my teammates lining the track giving me cheers of encouragement. I had slowed the last three laps and I realized I was still close to a pr and breaking 20. I sprintined the last 300m but alas, I finished 20:01. It was a pr, but it was somewhat disappoitining. I'm still happy, because it was a record breaking track season. I know I have fast gears and can enter the pain cave and REALLY compete. I am so excited to see what I can do.
sprinting to finish
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