Blog #8 – Keep Smiling, Keep Running

By Brenna Cohoon

Saturday was an absolutely beautiful day to run.  The sun was shining with temperatures in the high 40’s/low 50’s.

Race times were pushed back later than usual to accommodate those who took the SAT earlier in the day.  This gave us some extra to sleep and prepare for our races before our bus left at 11:30.

My team travelled to Harvester Park in Burr Ridge to compete in the West Suburban Gold Conference meet.  It was the first time any 3-mile race had been run on that course, so we were excited to test things out. 

Freshman girls ran first, and I was proud to watch my teammates take the win with a score of 21 points.  Freshman boys followed, and DGS won that race, as well.  Sophomore girls ran next, and I watched the end of their race while warming up.  Our team won that race with 15 points.  Afterward, the sophomore boys competed, and the Mustangs won.  Varsity girls were up next.

I felt calm and excited, with some nerves slowly creeping into my body.  I tried to shake them off as best as I could by turning those pre-race jitters into even more excitement.  It was nothing out of the ordinary, though.

We completed our typical warm-up and began doing some strides, all while maintaining our usual upbeat manner.  Lining up to compete with significantly fewer girls in comparison to our other meets felt very different.  In some ways, this added more pressure because there was less room for error. 

In other words, having less people in the race made it more crucial to really go out there, compete, and get the job done.  We knew that we had to deliver and race like the team that not only others expect us to be, but the team we know we are.

The whistle sounded, shortly followed by the gun, and everyone was off, charging up that first small, gradual uphill.  I went out at the fast yet controlled pace that I always try to achieve.

 I felt great!  The cool air tickled my skin as I moved forward, urging my legs to continue pushing.  A smile crossed my face as I passed my coaches and some of the parents for the first time.  I was soon out of the open field near where we had started and instead in the area hidden by trees and tall grasses.  I knew I had to focus.

The mile mark came quickly, and I glanced at my watch to ensure that I was going at a reasonable pace.  Although my race plan was not based around hitting specific splits, I wanted to make sure that I was not going too fast or too slow.  I was right where I wanted to be, somewhere around 5:36/5:37.

In the second mile, I was focused on just moving forward and maintaining a consistent pace.  I was running alone but unsure of how close everyone else was.  That did not matter, though, because I can only control how I run my own race.  I kept smiling and focusing on that end goal of winning the race.  After being back in the open field for about 600 meters, I went back into the protected grasses of Harvester Park. 

The two-mile mark was there in the blink of an eye, serving as a cue to really get going.  I had no idea how fast my split was but simply knew that I wanted to finish this race strong.  I used the downhills to my advantage and surged around the turns.  I continued to push, aiming to finish my race and be proud of the way I ran.

I emerged from the hidden part of the course with about 800 meters left and knew I only had about 3 minutes left in the race.  I entered the mini-loop on the course, hearing someone shout, “You’re at 16 minutes!”

I had no clue how long it would take me to run that last part.  I did, however, know that I really had to move.  I did not have a specific time goal in mind but thought that it would be nice to finish under 17:30.

As I approached the final straightaway down the one of the course’s slight inclines, one of my teammate’s dads shouted, “You have a great time right now!” 

I didn’t think much of it.  I just figured that I was running strong and pushing myself nicely.  As I came closer to the finish line, though, I knew exactly what he meant.  The clock read 16:58. I kicked into another gear for the last few steps, finishing with a time of 17:05, a new personal record by 2 seconds.  Although it was not the biggest time drop, I was proud knowing that I pushed myself to run that time entirely on my own, without even considering the idea of running my personal best before the race.

Once I finished, I watched the rest of my teammates finish in places 2-7.  I was so incredibly proud, knowing that finishing 1-7 in the Conference meet is something our Varsity team had only done once before, which was during my freshman year.  Some of my teammates also ran their best times, and in general, everyone was very pleased with their performances.

During our cool-down, we got to watch the DGS Varsity boys win their race, followed by the JV girls and then the JV boys.  These Mustangs also won their races, completing a long afternoon of running.

It was a bittersweet day, accomplishing our goal of winning Conference for the 20th year in a row, but knowing that this was the last race of the season with the entire team.  It was also sad to think that this was the last high school cross-country race some of my senior teammates would ever compete in.  I am extremely grateful for all that these girls have contributed to the team throughout the years. 

Overall, I felt really strong both mentally and physically.  I smiled throughout the race, something that I think has become a part of my race strategy this season.  Smiling reminds me that running is something I genuinely love and feel passionate about, so I should give it my best effort. 

I intend to run with that same passion this upcoming weekend at Regionals.  We will be up against some strong competition that will push us, and we are excited to rise to the occasion.  This is just one step in the process of accomplishing our objectives in the State Series!

Team Photo Credit – ©2018 Laura Duffy