cross to track

cross country season has ended, so the focus has shifted to track. different distances and different running surfaces, ill still be running though... i want to focus on either the 800, mile, or 5000. coach gave us times we had to hit to compete in meets in each event. they are 1:59, 4:30, and 16:30 respectively. although i've never hit those times. i should be able to when i attemp it. they aren't too difficult, but it will take a little work...
we'll start out with indoor track, traveling to baton rouge, carbondale ill, and a few other places. indoor meets are different, but fun. the tight track is the main downside, but i love how the races feel more action packed.
i have thought about some goals to hit for the season, however i may adjust them depending on what event i train for and where my times are at the beginning of the season. i'd like to get down to a 1:56 or 1:57 800, a 4:10 1500 and a 15:45 5k. those times would take alot of work, but totally be worth it. ill get in some training between now and through christmas break, and when season starts, ill be ready.

break

thanksgiving break is here. i have almost a week to be free of school work. there are several things i would like to do during the break. first thing would be to visit my uncle. he lives about an hour and a half away. i always enjoy going to visit him and then walking into his 180 acre back yard and sit on a deer stand and get some meat. hanging out in the outdoors is always an easy way to relax.
i'd also like to hang around my house and spend time with my parents. i only live 2 miles from mc but i still rarely see my parents. when i do see them, it is usually on race day, and i'm not to talkative then... i kinda miss my house. now that i have moved away, i love that feeling of being at "home" when i go back to the house.
one more thing id like to do before i start back at school, is see my sister and her kids. she only lives a 20 minute drive away, but i do not see her that much. she has two daughters, 5 years, and 8 months. i haven't seen those girls in forever, i hope to see them and spend time with them over the break.

summing up the season

thursday, i boarded a bus headed to seguin tx.  saturday, we competed in the ASC conference championship race.  this race was one to let every team in the conference show what they really had.  we had a goal as a team, but also, everyone had an individual goal as we headed into the race.  our team goal, was to finish as best we could in the conference.  i guess you could say we were the underdogs, considering we are a team with 2 sophomores and the rest freshmen, racing against teams full of seniors and juniors, with lots of college racing under them.  my individual goal going in, was to pr, and to place decently in the field.  as soon as i finished, i realized, i had another goal...

i ran the 5 mile course in 28:14.  that was 51 seconds faster than when i ran that distance 3 weeks ago.  i ran the last half mile with the most guts than i ever have dug to find.  when i finished, i was glad to see i had a decent time... but that wasn't where i found the most glory

walking to the starting line of a race, causes a feeling tons different than anything i've ever been through.  when i walk to the starting line, i know that i am about to push my body to mental and physical exhaustion and that i will experience the closest thing to hell without actually going.  to know that feeling is coming, makes it way more difficult to run your body to death.  during the last half mile, there was an opponent about 20 meters ahead of me.  i looked at him, and thought to myself.. "i want to beat him no matter what it takes"  my mind and body took off after him, got around him and hung on.  with my heart and lungs feeling like they were about to explode, and my legs in shambles feeling like they were falling apart.... i did what i had to do, i kept running.

to know that i can push my body that far, and to know i have the mental strength to do absolutely anything is the best feeling in the world.  no matter if i win a race, or come in last, i find the most joy....not in where i finished, or the time i finished in, but in that i can make my body do absolutely anything, and have more mental strength than any other runner out there.