Just the dreams, musings, and ideas of a high-school girl on the run

I sincerely apologize for my extended hiatus; I just got back from Playa Del Carmen, Mexico and now I’m knee-deep in the welcomed chaos of track season and AP tests.

As you can see, Mexico was beautiful! However, I am so glad to be back with my teammates and completing hard workouts together. Doing all of my runs on a treadmill in a steamy gym was not so fun. Neither was getting food poisoning (don’t eat the salads in Mexico).

I am looking forward to this season because I feel more ready than ever before. Aside from our usual system of stretching, plyos, running, and core- our coach has implemented weight lifting into our practices which has seemed to pay off immensely. The benefits of weight lifting for runners (especially track athletes) are huge! Weight lifting strengthens weaker muscle groups, reduces injury, and produces more successful athletes in general. After working with weights all winter, I ran a 5:29 mile at our inter-squad meet before spring break. A time only 4 seconds off my PR! My teammates are looking exceptionally strong as well and I am anticipating a fantastic season filled with fun and many memories.

Unfortunately, the weather here has been less than satisfactory. I have not seen the sun in six days due to torrential downpours and snow flurries, and this miserable weather pattern is expected to continue for the next week. Due to these strange conditions, two track meets have already been cancelled. That’s right- I still have run at my first meet. Yet, on Monday our team is running against Forest Hills Central and it looks like it will be able to be held. I’m supposed to run the one mile and two-mile which is quite a mouthful for a first meet, but I love the events and am excited to race them.

Since the meet was cancelled today, my coach decided to seize the opportunity and my track team had a speed workout this lovely morning at 8 a.m. During a time span of 2 hours, it rained, snowed, and hailed. The weather was awful, but we got through it together and ended up enjoying a very tough workout. From the 150-500 m and back down ladder to the mile of surges, I ran with the knowledge that the workout would make my teammates and I stronger competitors. When I got home, I took a hot shower and had a large breakfast consisting of yogurt with granola and eggs. This morning has definitely been a cozy one.

Do you run in bad conditions? Or take a day off? Comment below!

"We run, not because we think it is doing us good, but because we enjoy it and cannot help ourselves...The more restricted our society and work become, the more necessary it will be to find some outlet for this craving for freedom. No one can say, 'You must not run faster than this, or jump higher than that.' The human spirit is indomitable."
-Sir Roger Bannister, first runner to run a sub-4 minute mile

Wow, I will be sore tomorrow from the first seven mile run of the season but it was well worth it. I love my teammates and I think we can do some pretty great things this season even though our team is not very deep. Our very small group of distance runners is inexperienced, but we have the strength for an awesome season. This quote made me so excited for racing- I'm starting to miss the nerves before the starting gun and the adrenaline rush that comes with the first lap around the track.

What are you most looking forward to for track season? Or if you don't do track, spring running?

The reason I run can basically be summed up in this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5Peu1GkCg0

How do you feel after watching what this man accomplished? A 5k doesn’t seem so threatening does it?

Aside from his obvious athletic talent, I am astounded by Timothy’s obvious love for running and life. I broke out into a grin when I saw him finishing on the track- so determined and surrounded by his biggest supporters. Next time you are in a bit of a running rut, think back to his unwavering smile as he flew through the high rocky trails.

Isn’t it crazy how music can evoke such powerful feelings? Here I am, sitting in my room in the dead of winter, listening to music that reminds me of this past fall and summer and instantly I feel like I am back in that time. Even annoying songs, like Call Me Maybe, bring back memories of the can drive we did to raise money for track. That was a happy time for me.

Then I wonder sometimes if it is not the music that brings back these memories, but the people I was with when I heard such songs. When I first heard Call Me Maybe, I was strapped into the front seat of Lily’s car with Claire and we were flying down the road making up funny dance moves and drinking our delicious shakes from Steak N’ Shake.  Out of nowhere, along the side of the road, I spotted two large red chairs (if you know where I live you have probably seen them before) and we spontaneously decided to sit in them. Surprisingly, another couple had the same idea and we had them photograph us as we hammed it up in front of the camera. In her car, screaming the lyrics, I understood what Charlie (Perks of Being a Wallflower) meant when he said, “In that moment, I swear I was infinite.” In that one moment, I had never felt so alive.  Memories like that are my favorite- the ones that kind of sneak up on you softly;  the ones that didn’t seem so significant at the moment but become so vivid and tangible the further you progress in time.

Another set of songs that makes me surprisingly nostalgic is anything by Girl Talk. The songs remind me of Emily, Erin, and Sarah, rapping their favorite part as we drove to TCBY to get froyo in the heat of summer. They remind me of Becca and I dancing wildly around my room after we had qualified for the State Track Meet. They remind me of rocking out on the way to Chicago to race the Muddy Buddy. Looking back, there was nothing about the mash-ups that were anything special- but it was much more about the people who I shared those special moments with. Music has a way of making memories concrete. When my emotions are so intertwined with music, I will never be able to forget these special memories and people. To this day Forever Young makes me tear up. It evokes memories of wiping tears off my cheeks as I wrote goodbye letters, sprawled out across my back patio, to the best big “sisters” in the worlds. That song is something we will always share between us- and even on a night like this, where I am buried under piles of homework and it is twenty degrees outside, I can close my eyes and be right back there again with them.