Blog #7 – A night running under the lights

By Brenna Cohoon

The Naperville Twilight Invite was last Wednesday for our team. It is an extremely competitive meet that provides an exhilarating atmosphere in which to race.  As this meet took place on a weeknight, we had to contain our excitement throughout the entire day at school.  A few times, I had butterflies fill my stomach while thinking of lining up at the start or crossing the finish.  At those moments, I just took a deep breath and focused on the present.  My race would come.

We left school and arrived at Naperville North a more than an hour before the first race of the evening.  Those of us competing on Varsity had plenty of time until the beginning of our race, so we had many opportunities to cheer for our teammates and relax in between races.  I took some time to meet the New Balance athletes at the meet (Brenda Martinez, Stephanie Garcia, and Elle Purrier).  One of my coaches has a connection to Brenda Martinez, and he introduced me to her.  All of the NB athletes were sweet, down-to-earth people, asking me about myself and wishing me good luck in my race.  It was an honor to meet them!

The clock seemed to suddenly tick down closer to the start of our race.  We gathered the nine girls who would be toeing the line at 7:30 pm and running out of box 16.  We exchanged smiles of encouragement before heading on our warmup.  Talking to my teammates during our little run helped calm my nerves that inevitably came with such a competitive meet.  A few of the butterflies remained in my stomach, but I like it that way. They give me a rush of adrenaline before each race.

We completed our warmup and headed back to the tent to put on our spikes.  We arrived at the starting line and began our strides in the warm, humid, windy weather.  The conditions were not ideal in which to compete, but we knew that just like every other race, all of our competitors had to deal with it as well.  Races like this sometimes come down to who handles the adversity the best.

My teammates always keep things light, and we were laughing on the starting line.  Among others, it is the moments like those that fill me with gratitude for my teammates.  They help me stay focused at the right times, but also provide some comic relief when necessary.

The gun went off, and some of the best teams in the state tore off of the line, eager to get onto the course and run their hearts out. 

The race began at a brisk pace, but I felt comfortable and confident.  I quickly settled into a spot around the top 12 to 15 places.  I wanted to ensure that I was in position to finish among the top five but knew that I needed to stay patient throughout the first 800 meters or so.

My plan heading into the race was to stick with the main pack that formed.  My times had been very comparable to many of the other girls throughout this season thus far, so I figured that would be the perfect place to stick for the majority of the race.  That plan had worked exceptionally well for me at First to the Finish, and I figured Twilight was a meet with very similar competition.  However, as the race progressed and started to thin out, no distinct pack was forming.  I took it upon myself to get out of my comfort zone and go ahead.  Approaching the first mile, I was running alongside Samantha Poglitsch of Wheaton Warrenville South.  We entered the stadium, and I felt absolutely amazing.  I was smiling once again and using the incredible energy from the crowd to continue pushing forward.  I decided to take some positive risks and put in a few surges on the track. 

As we exited the stadium, I was starting to establish myself in the fourth-place position.  My teammates, coaches, and parents cheered emphatically, bringing another smile to my face. 

The race went on.  I was stuck alone, quite a bit behind Katrina Schlenker of Batavia and Alex Morris of Naperville North.  That was when the true fight began.  I focused on maintaining my pace and trying to pick up speed when I felt myself beginning to settle.  Other than that, I just needed to stay positive.  The electricity surrounding me definitely made that an easier task.

Before I knew it, I had hit the two-mile mark.  That meant it was “go time”.  I could tell at that point that I was not moving up any more, but I was determined to hold onto fourth place.  I was unsure of how close behind everyone else was, so I continued to push onwards.  I entered the stadium for the second and final time, knowing I had about 400 meters left and needed to give it all I physically could at that moment.  I began kicking, and with about 200 meters left, found another gear and started sprinting around the final curve and along the straightaway.  I saw my time as I approached the finish line and knew that the conditions simply did not allow me to run a personal record.  That did not matter to me, though.  I ran all the way through the line with a huge smile across my face, finishing in 17:31.  I had just run a race that I was proud of, competing against some absolutely phenomenal athletes.

My coaches quickly found me and congratulated me.  As I was catching my breath, one of my coaches pointed to a group of my teammates in our striped jerseys coming around the track and looking incredibly strong.  “Look at that pack!” he exclaimed.  All I could do was smile even wider, taking pride in the inspiring power of my best friends.

We received the team results before I even had the chance to get back to our tent.  Our coaches informed us that we had scored 103 points to finish third behind Naperville North and Yorkville.  Erin Reidy’s 18th place finish put us in good position, as did our incredible pack.  Freshman Alex Spang led our little herd of Mustangs across the line, finishing in 26th place.  Becky Versaksas, Rebecca Didda, and Melissa Weidner followed in 27th, 28th, and 29th.  Kennedy Warden was right there in 31st, while Olivia Duax and Kelsey Casella finished in 36th and 37th.  To say that I am proud of my teammates is quite an understatement.

Although the time I ran was not what I had hoped for, I was not even the slightest bit concerned.  It was still my second fastest time of the season and 11 seconds faster than last year’s Twilight Invite, which had much better conditions.  On top of that, I had improved upon my 16th place finish from the previous year.  There was a lot to be pleased with.

However, I am still striving toward my season goals.  Thankfully, I have some incredible opportunities awaiting me throughout this state series.

This upcoming Saturday is our conference meet, where we will be going after our team’s 20th straight West Suburban Conference Gold Division title.  I am ready to get in the right mindset for the state series with this race!

Photo Credit – ©2018 Laura Duffy