AM: Easy (much easier than yesterday!) 3.
PM: Race. I really wasn't sure how I was going to feel when it came to race time. Beforehand, I was just whatever. I couldn't even be bothered. I was dancing with Stoner and Mia, and singing and cheering. As it got a little closer to race time, I started to get a little snippy, but I wasn't really nervous. When we started, I got in a pretty good place for the beginning, and for the first little bit, Stoner and Aimee and I were running together. Then I just kinda.. fell off. I'm not really sure why. I didn't feel like I slowed down at all, and mentally, I still felt fine. But more people started passing me, and I was kinda just like 'what the heck?' cause I honestly felt like I was pushing. Obviously, with people, including a Cedar girl and Mia, passing me, I wasn't feeling as positive as I had been.. but my main objective was to keep the Cedar girl that I could hear behind me from passing me. That's pretty much the only thing that kept me going through that big lap. As we ended that lap, I knew I had to push harder, or she was gonna get me. I went to pass the Cedar girl in front of me (who also plays soccer, and I felt stupid talking to her the last time she beat me, so I wanted to get her this time), and she surged a little, and I kinda backed off.. then I tried again, and she surged again. So I tried to just stay right behind her and hope to get her at the end. The distance between us got a little bigger, but I just tried to keep her within sprinting distance. But as we started the medium lap, she passed Mia and I knew one of us had to go. So I started going harder.. and as we got to the bottom of that lap, I just went. I passed Mia, and kinda hoped she'd stay with me, but I really just wanted the Cedar girl. Finally, finally, finally I got to her and she surged a little again, but I was just like 'I do not have patience for this again, girl.' and passed her. I was a little scared of how early I started pushing at the end, but I just didn't want her to pass me back. So by the end, it was less of a kick to go get the girl in front of me as it was a kick to keep the Cedar girls behind me. So.. this race wasn't my best.. but I really felt like I was pushing. And I got the Cedar girl, so that was good.. And I beat my last time on that course, which is a refreshing change. Overall, our girls took 2nd, which was kind of a disappointment, but I am really proud of our girls and how hard we've worked this season and how far some of the younger girls have come. | 