Thoughts and LW

Well things have been hectic and stressful and such but my school work is pretty much all done!! I still have to pack all my track stuff and we leave at 6pm tonight!!

I woke up with a horrible headache this morning and now I sit at my computer with my water bottle on one side and a chocolate raspberry coffee (yum!) on the other.

Yesterday was my last track practice. And I am not sad about it at all. It has been a great experience and this is the best possible way for me to end my college athletic career! I am very excited for this "last" track meet!! The parents are traveling to see my compete as well which is an added boost!

Yesterday I got the keys to my new apartment. While driving there I saw that there were sidewalks on pretty much every street which will be great for running!! (I also saw a drive threw for a dunkin donuts! This will obviously feed my coffee addiction!)

Ok on to Literary Wednesday! I have a word document that has a list of all the books I have read since high school (We actually had to start this document my senior year for a portfolio project). I opened that file up and picked out a book that I really enjoyed.

One of my very good friends and also running buddy Winkly recommended this book to me a while ago. It is a young adult book but the story is really touching. I found this description online:

"It's a captivating, heartbreaking and illuminating tale of what happens after we die. Liz Hall, the narrator, is a well-spoken, emotionally intense 15-year-old. She was primed for adolescence: boyfriends, driving, her first bra. And then she was killed in an accident, after which she ends up in heaven looking down as those who loved her go on with their lives. After the accident, Liz ends up in a heaven called Elsewhere, an extraordinarily organized place where the dead go to await rebirth. In Elsewhere, the dead are not dead in the traditional sense. They have lives. They work. They eat and play and have relationships. They explore life as we do. They succeed and they stumble as we do. Most important, they age -- but backward, from the age they were at the moment of their arrival to infancy, at which time they're transported back to earth for a new life."

I definitely recommend checking this book out! It was a quick read and I really enjoyed it!

Happy Wednesday (and Thursday and Friday!) Tomorrow is Day 1 of Heptathlon and then day 2 is Friday! I am not as nervous this time, I am just hoping to beat all my previous times and distances!

Heptathlon Day 2

Sunday night I could feel that I was tired from being outside in the sun as well as running 4 events. I settled into the hotel bed around 8pm and just watched tv until I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore (which happened to be 9:30pm).

The next morning I woke up at 7am with that nervous feeling in my stomach. There was so much riding on this one day. After a breakfast of oatmeal, coffee, yogurt and a banana I met my coach and we headed to the track meet.

My coach had figured out what I needed to jump/throw/run in each event in order to get 3400 points. For each event the numbers I needed to hit were either a little below or above my personal records from this season so that helped me to become a little more confident that this could actually happen.

The first event of Day 2 was long jump. I felt that I had fresh legs so I should be able to jump close or over my PR of 4.70m (a little over 15 feet). Once I got my mark I just couldn't seem to get a good run in and wasn't getting near the board that you are supposed to jump off of. I ended up jumping 4.49m which was much lower than I wanted.

The second event was Javelin. I have been practicing recently but there are so many aspects to jav that I just wasn't sure. I was hoping to throw farther than my PR (21.33m) and I did but only by a little bit. I threw 22.03m.

The last event was the 800m.

My coach had figured out that I needed to run a 2:35.42 in the 800m to get 3400 points and the last time I ran the 800m was in indoor in a time of 2:38.04.

Paraphrasing, this is what my coach said to me:
"In all the other events there is some technical aspect, there is something that is out of your control. But this event you can control 100% of it, there is no technical aspect, all you have to do is run. If you believe that you can run fast then you will. You have to believe in yourself."

The girl that ended up winning the Heptathlon was a very good 800m runner. We knew that on a good day when it wasn't 92 degrees out and she hadn't just done heptathlon that she could run about a 2:28. So the plan was for me to stick with her.

There was a strong wind coming off the back stretch (if you visualize the track from the starting line, that would be the first straightaway) and so for the first 200m of the race I was supposed to just keep this girl 3 to 5 feet away from me and then once I reached about 300m I was to slowly reel her in and stay right on her tail. Therefore I could use her for drafting for the beginning of the second lap (basically the 500m-600m area). The wind was perfect for the final straightaway so it would help me to push it in.

Back when I ran Pentathlon in high school (they only do heptathlon in college) they used to line us up by our position for the 800m, so if you were in first place you got the first position on the track because they do a waterfall start. (if any of this stuff is confusing please let me know and I can clarify more).

Well now they changed the rules and they line you up randomly. I was in the 3rd position at the start and before I knew it we had started the race.

The fast girl, as I will call her, elbowed her way to the front of the pack where she managed to trip the girl in front of me, who then almost tripped me. I stayed right with those two girls through the first 200m. I could hear my coach saying "that is perfect, keep it up".

As we entered the second straightaway I passed the 2nd girl and reeled in the fast girl as we passed the finish line and headed into the third straightaway. At this point I was feeling great - my first lap split was about 73 seconds and I just knew I had more in me at that point. I drafted off the fast girl for the straightaway and then we hit the curve. I patiently waited (pushing the fast girl all the while) and when we hit the final straightaway I pulled out and started to pass her. I could tell at this point I was getting tired but I just kept thinking "you want this more, you want to go to the next meet!"

I could pick out my coach's voice the whole time - I honestly have never heard him more positive and encouraging or excited as when he was coaching me. It was amazing and as I crossed the finish line I was exhausted.

The fast girl ended up passing me right at the finish so I came in second but it was the best second place I have ever had because I ran my 800m in....

2 minutes and 33 seconds (2:33.57 to be exact)

A new PR for me!!

After finishing I had no idea if I had actually made the time and I tried to ask my coach but he was dousing me with water from a water sprayer. He finally told me my unofficial time and I just put my head in my hands! I was so happy! I couldn't believe that I had actually done it!

When I told me parents (who had driven to watch the whole 7 events fiasco) it was very emotional. I just felt tears welling up in my eyes because this dream that I had had was finally coming true.

So overall, I came in 4th place with 3422 points and on May 14/15th I will be competing again in Heptathlon!! Friday morning I will be leaving with my whole team to go to the "REAL" state meet. It is a two day event and I am really excited to spend time with my team. At this meet I will get my medal for placing 4th in the state in my conference and I will post some pictures!

Thanks so much for reading this super long post/race report/track meet report! I am still so tired from competing. Yesterday I did a light practice and all my muscles were sore. Having competed Sunday/Monday my whole schedule is off - I can't even tell what day it is!


* Did anyone actually buy this bathing suit that Chic Runner had in her blog? I want it so bad but I am afraid that when I get it and actually put it on my butt will be hanging out!!

**I have had a few of you ask which school I run for and I would love to share that with all of you but I had intended to keep my identity basically a secret on this blog.

Heptathlon Day 1

**Saturday I went to the local meet to just run the hurdles. It was going well until I got to the 7th hurdle where I proceeded to studder step, jump the hurdle awkwardly and then fall to the ground on my side. Not my best performance.**

Sunday morning dawned beautiful and hot. And when I say hot I mean 87 degrees was the high temp for the day. Events didn't start until 1pm to allow any teams to drive in Sunday. I learned that there were only 8 girls in the event which meant that I would score no matter what (since they score the top 8).

The first event was 100m hurdles and I was a little worried because of the previous days performance. I made it over the 10 hurdles but not in the time I wanted. I was the slowest hurdler with a time of 19.15 seconds.

I was working on focusing on one event at a time and at this point in time I was a high jumper. I got my mark and we started off. I jumped the lower heights and was doing ok. I knew that I needed to gain some serious points to make up for hurdles and I was confident that I could do it in high jump. I made it over 1.43m (dont know the conversion) while four of the other girls missed that height. I continued to jump - and everything just came together. I am not even sure how I was able to continue on but it was amazing. I ended up jumping 1.49m (4 feet 10 inches - I think) which I totally had cleared but managed to hit the bar with my calf. I came in third for high jump with a jump of 1.46m.

The next event was shot put which I really enjoy. My coach called me a "powerful woman" and I was hoping to really throw far. Sadly I only threw 9.79 meters (just over 32 feet) but shot put really isn't many points so I just focused on the next event. I also came in second for this event.

The last event of day 1 was the 200m dash. It was getting close to 4pm by this time and I was feeling a bit drained but hoped that I had enough energy to run a sub 29 seconds. I ended up completely forgetting my form for the last part of the run as I was racing the girl in the lane next to me and was so focused on staying ahead of her that I forgot everything else. My time was 29.04 seconds (exactly .01 seconds faster!)

I ended day with 2020 points and just 4 small points out of 4th place. I got a nice ice bath for my legs and also some ice for my hip. It was a good day. I had PR'ed in two of the four events and was feeling confident about the next day and my chances of reaching the 3400 points mark.

That night my coach and I went out for dinner and I had a nice steak dinner. I have heard that carbo loading is over-rated and that eating protein is better for you. Eating protein allows you to maintain a stable glucose and insulin balance and therefor preform better. This outdoor season I have really worked at cutting out the carbs and I think it has helped.

Tomorrow I will post about Heptathlon Day 2! Thanks for reading!

RESULTS

The results are in:


3422 (points!)



I did it! I just got back and the last two days have been amazing! Ill report about the whole thing later! Thank you for all your supportive and wonderful comments!!

Heptathlon

What if you had one chance to run a race and that chance would never come up again.

How hard would you run today if you couldn't run tomorrow?

These thoughts and variations of this have been running through my head for over two weeks now.

Seven Events

Two Days

One Chance


I am running, jumping and throwing as far as I can just to have another day to compete, another day to run college track!

As one of my coaches says - If you don't go all out then whats the point??

Well I am off! I will be back Monday night with a full report!

Schedule

Happy Friday Morning to All!!

I just wanted to update the schedule for everyone. The next three days are going to be nerve racking as well as exciting. As I type this my stomach is doing flip flops!

Tomorrow (Saturday April 25th) -
There is a meet at a local college and B-rabbit will be chauffeuring me there so I can run the 100m hurdles and then come back home to rest in my apartment. Although I feel confident in my hurdling, my coach wants me to run them one more time just because we have the time.

Then Saturday night at 7:30pm, I will be leaving with my head coach to travel to where the meet will be held Sunday.

Sunday April 26th -
The multis is a two day event. Sunday I will do 4 events and then Monday I will do the last three events. Sunday I will do hurdles, high jump, shot put and then the 200m dash.

Monday April 27th -
Today I will do long jump, throw javelin and run the 800m. After this I will return home with my coach.

I am not sure if I will have access to a computer on the trip. Either way I will report back (hopefully with news that I qualified for the regional meet!) when I get home on Monday night.

I have all the potential, I just have to focus on one event at a time! Every inch, every second, every point counts!

Happy Weekend!

Making Progress

First off - THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR YOUR COMMENTS! Saturday was a rough night for me but I got through it. Sunday I woke up and went for an easy 3 miler and felt much better.

Yes it is sad that I was not able to run the relay but guess what? I have talent to compete in 7 events which no other girl on my team has the ability to do!

Today we have a dual meet and I am competing in hurdles, high jump and running the lead off leg of the 4x400m relay. I realize that running the relay is more of a training exercise for me so that I can run the 800m faster. Everything seems to have clicked for me that I am a multi event athlete and I have a chance of a lifetime which I NEED to take advantage of!

Yesterday I looked up the qualifying standards for the regional meet and I realized that I WAS TOTALLY off on my thinking.

Currently I have 3346 points for 7 events
To qualify for the regional meet I need 3400 points (previously I thought there was no way I could qualify because I was looking at the national standards!)

I have a new goal - I WANT to go to that regional meet!

The final countdown has begun - 4 days until I compete! I am filled with nervous excitement and hoping that I can preform to my full potential! I am thankful that this time I can compete (compared to what happened for Indoor and my hip flexor)!

Still Bummed

I am still bummed about the relay stuff...The roster for this weekends meet came out and I am an alternate for the 4x400m relay...whatever that means!

I feel like my coach doubts my ability and thinks that I am still injured and therefore can't run. Well I have been running fine in practice and I have Heptathlon States in less than 2 weeks so obviously I am fine if I plan on doing 7 events in two days!

Yesterdays workout was a welcome relief and helped me to clear my mind. We did 5x400m repeats and for the first time doing this workout I had no hip pain. I feel stronger, faster, and better than ever!

In 10 days I will compete in heptathlon - my first, last and only chance to do something amazing! With graduation a little over a month away and track ending sooner than that I am really starting to realize that I don't have much time left. I think that is why I was getting so emotional yesterday about the relay!

Anyway, today I will be practicing high jump and hopefully no more chin to my chest while jumping!! For the relay - I just have to trust that things will work out in the best way for me. And if my coach gives me the chance to run the relay I will leave everything on the track!

Thanks for all your kind comments! Have a great Wednesday!

Annoying Roommate, Running in Groups and Books

It's a Wednesday morning and I am already annoyed with my roommate. We don't technically share a room, just the bathroom, kitchen and living room but this girl is the most inconsiderate person I have ever lived with.

She has class at 10am but every morning she wakes up at about 7am and proceeds to bang around the apartment waking me up. She takes F-O-R-E-V-E-R to get ready and always leaves a mess behind. I am trying not to be passive aggressive but it is really hard. Currently if she leaves something out in a place where it doesn't belong I proceed to hide it! I can't wait for April Fools day - this is going to be good!

Now that I got my rant out of the way, on to running - Current workouts have included lots of running!

Monday -
warm up 1/2 mile
1x350m FAST (58 seconds)
2x200m FAST ( 30-32 seconds each)
cool down 1 mile

Tuesday -
warm up 1/2 mile
8x400m at 70% (about 90 seconds for each 400m with 3 minutes rest)
cool down 1/2 mile

The hip flexor was tender after yesterdays 400s, so I am going to go light today.

So I promised to talk about my running experience with a group yesterday but I got side tracked so here it is today.

Recently I have been trying to coordinate with my coach a way to train for Heptathlon. It is really difficult trying to fit in 7 different events. I was feeling discouraged as my coach told me that I would have to do the running workouts on my own. I never want to go back to doing sprint workouts with a group or partner. The decrease of intensity that results from running alone is very discouraging. (Thankfully my coach and I worked things out so I can still run with the sprinter girls).

This is why I have been contemplating joining a local running/track club after I graduate. The guy who runs the club is a neighbor of my parents and I am really looking forward to having people to run with. I even considered coming back to my college next year just to run with Abby and Jill and Alison (my track teammates). I am not sure exactly what the future holds but I cannot say enough about running with a group. Not only is there a social aspect and great friends to be made but having others to run with for track workouts helps to keep me honest and to push me to become a better runner.

I really could go on and on about this but I have to get ready for school. Happy Running!


Current Book I am reading -
For Women Only by Shaunti Feldhahn
A friend recommended this book and so far it is pretty interesting -

From amazon.com -
What’s going on in a man’s mind? From their early days, every woman has struggled to understand why males behave the way they do. Even long-married women who think they understand men have only scratched the surface. Beneath a man’s rugged exterior is an even more rugged, unmapped terrain. What bestselling author Shaunti Feldhahn’s research reveals about the inner lives of men will open women’s eyes to what the men in their life—boyfriends, brothers, husbands, and sons—are really thinking and feeling. Men want to be understood, but they’re afraid to “freak out” the women they love by confessing what is happening inside their heads. This book will guide women in how to provide the loving support that modern men want and need.

(they also have a For Men Only book too!!)

Shorts

I just finished catching up on my blogs - the last one I read was TFH's latest post about what she endorses!

The third thing on her list was "Going commando beneath your running shorts/tights"!

Now I have never tried it but most of the women's distance runners on my team run without underwear on. I feel like TFH and I have are on similar brain waves - here is the process that seems to happen for me -

1. I daydream throughout the day
2. I read TFH's blog and I am surprised because she has written a post that relates to my random thoughts!!

Anyway, so I was thinking about this - maybe it would be easier to just run without underwear? I mean the shorts already have that built in underwear thing in them. So what is the verdict???


*Running? I gave that up for Lent....Just kidding. I took today off. And yesterday too. Tomorrow morning I have javelin practice...The days of Pentathlon are over and now training for Heptathlon starts. (Pentathlon is only run in Indoor track. Heptathlon (7 events) is run for outdoor track.) I will try running/sprinting tomorrow and we will see how it goes.