Blog #8: Racing with a new perspective - what a concept!

By Brenna Cohoon

Last Friday, my team competed at Wheaton Warrenville South High School in the Tiger Invitational.  This was my first meet back after my brief break, and it felt amazing to get back on the track.  I was just itching to get to that starting line during the weeks I didn’t race.

I knew that I needed to stay patient, but I missed the thrill that comes with racing.

My coaches wanted me to ease back into things as slowly as possible while also feeling prepared for the last couple weeks of the season, so I only raced in one event which was the 800 Meter Run.  Although I have run in quite a few 4x800 Meter Relays throughout the last three years, I have only competed in the open 800 Meter Run a handful of times.  I was excited to see what I could do in this event among some incredibly solid competition.

Before the start of my race, I soaked in everything.  I was grateful to be lacing up my spikes, grateful to be running strides.  I was grateful to be surrounded by my team, and I was grateful to have that feeling of butterflies back in my stomach.  I may have only missed a couple of meets, but it felt like an eternity.  I needed to use that small glimpse of a fresh viewpoint to be mindful of the gifts in my life, many of them pertaining to running.

As we lined up, one of the officials asked if we had any questions before the race began.  He then poked some fun at all of us by asking how many laps we had to run.  Obviously, we only had to run around the track twice, but I almost said that we had eight laps.

I guess I’m just used to running the 3200 Meter Run!

The gun went off, and the wind blew in strong gusts, whipping the ponytails of my competitors as they all surged forward.  I tried to hold on to a group of girls near the front, but everyone stuck together in a big clump. 

I remember hitting the 300-meter mark and thinking, I’m almost halfway done!  Already, though?

I focused on moving up and passing as many girls as possible in the second and final lap of my race.  I finished the race and instinctively looked at my watch.  I frowned at the time that I saw, then glanced at the scoreboard to confirm.  I ran a 2:23, which was two seconds off of my PR.  Before the race, I was so excited to compete and expected myself to run a personal best.  However, I took consolation in the fact I fought through the windy conditions and improved upon the place I was seeded among an impressive field.

I peeled off of the track to be greeted by my teammates and coaches.  They helped me forget about the results of the race and simply be grateful that I had the opportunity to run.  I was also proud of my teammate Erin Reidy, who ran a great race to finish second place behind Katelynne Hart.

I ran my cool down with Alisha Macas, another one of my teammates who ran a strong race in the heat before me.  We took the time to shake out our legs while talking about our races and life, in general. 

Through the years, I’ve noticed that some of my most insightful conversations have been held during cool downs. Perhaps it’s because of the runner’s high?

Later, during the 1600 Meter Run, a group of my friends and I ran back and forth across the infield of the track to cheer on our teammates who were racing.  I joked that it felt like we were running the pacer test in PE class, but we had a blast cheering for everyone.

Looking ahead, only a couple of weeks remain in this season, which is absolutely insane!  My team will be competing at the WSC Gold Outdoor Championship this Thursday, followed by Sectionals next Thursday, and State the following weekend.  

Things have been a bit hectic between school and running, since both the academic year and the track season are wrapping up.  This has made it easy to lose track of the limited time we have left to race this season.  I am excited to see what these next few weeks hold!

Photo Credit – ©2017 Laura Duffy (My freshman conference race)