Hey Everyone!
I awoke this morning to aching calves, tight hamstrings and a blood blister on the bottom of my foot that left me hobbling around my house, all clear reminders of the exciting KVAC championship meet yesterday. Coming into KVACs, I knew there would be an abundance of competition, so I was thrilled at the opportunity to race some really talented girls. Distance running in Maine has grown so much since I entered high school and I can't express in words how cool it has been to experience such an increase in the amount of competition.
I didn't want to get too nervous for my races, though, so before the 1600 I just tried to focus on my own race and improving my times so I would be able to run my best. Since I'm not a super-intense, super-competitive person, I run my best if I enter races with a calm, relaxed mind set. If I get myself all psyched up, I often burn out mid-race because I've used up all my energy thinking about and preparing for the race. (I don't actually know if this theory is accurate, but it's what I gathered based on self-observation.) Although I was nervous for the 1600, I approached the starting line fairly calm.
When the gun went off, I settled a few steps behind Bethanie, which was right were I wanted to be. I knew she was going to run a blistering pace, but I didn't want to lose sight of her too quickly. As the pack rounded the first turn, I pretended there was a rope in my hands that was also attached to Bethanie, and as we ran I pulled on the rope, bringing me closer to her (okay, so I didn't actually get closer to her, but the technique kept my motivation up). I also paid attention to the field behind me, as I knew that Brittany was probably right on my heels, but I mainly wanted to focus on moving forward, which is why Bethanie was such a good motivator. I went through the 800 in 2:33, which was a great pace, even though I didn't have a specific time in mind. As always, my third lap was a little slow, because I ended up running a 2:36 second half--good for a 5:09. Overall, I was happy with my race because I ran a sub-5:10 and a season best time. When I finished, I suddenly became aware of how humid it was and how thick the air had become. However, the humidity was nothing compared to the afternoon heat for the 3200!
While I love warm weather, it was hard to race yesterday afternoon because we haven't been acclimated to the heat yet. Before I stepped onto the track, I doused my face and neck with ice water to cool my body temperature a little. Nevertheless, I was pumped for the 3200, especially because it's been my stronger race this season. And since I had already run the 1600, all of my pre-race jitters had disappeared, so I entered the race with just pure anxiousness and excitement (as well as tired legs). My excitement was obvious, as I think I ran a sub 1:20 first lap and was on pace for a sub 11:00 for the first two or three laps! During the first mile, which I ran in 5:33, I was confident I was on the fast track to a PR.
However, all of my enthusiasm clouded my sense of reality, as I realized as soon as I completed lap 4 that only half the race was over and I had almost no energy left. As a result, there became an inverse relationship between my enthusiasm level and my lap splits: as my enthusiasm level plummeted from high to low, my lap splits increased from the low 1:20s to the 1:30 range. Suddenly, the race had transformed from a PR attempt into survival mode. Slogging through the final mile, my stride shortening and head wavering from fatigue, my thoughts focused solely on finishing the race. Trying to sprint down the homestretch on the final lap, I was so relieved to be finishing that I almost didn't care that my time would be my slowest of the season and 17 seconds off my PR.
While I definitely lacked some motivation and energy in the latter portion of the race, most of my competitors also experienced the same difficulties I did and ran significantly slower than their seed times. I realized that it would be useless to dwell over one off time when it was mostly due to factors that were out of my control. But, it would have helped it I hadn't been so psyched for the race. If I had been relaxed, I wouldn't of started out so ridiculously fast, which might have helped me prevent the mid-race catastrophe!
My final event of the day was the 4x400, with my teammates Sydney, Natalie, and Jolene. I was hoping that my legs would hold up for one last lap because my team wanted to place and I didn't want to disappoint them, especially since I was running the anchor leg. When Jolene handed the baton to me, we were in perfect position, running neck-and-neck with Camden Hills for sixth place (well, fifth in our heat, but Lincoln Academy had posted a great time from the first heat). It was funny because Brittany Bowman runs the anchor leg for her team, too, and we are used to competing against each other anyway. Around the 300m mark, she passed me, and I thought that was it. But when I reached the 200m, I sprinted and caught up to her at the 150 mark and passed her just before rounding the turn for the final straightaway. It was fun to race Brittany outside of our regular events, and my teammates and I recorded a new PR!
As I shared the 6th place podium spot with my 4x400 teammates, I realized how much more enjoyable and rewarding success is when shared with others. For this reason, the 4x400 was my favorite podium finish of the day. I'm so proud of my 4x400 girls and my distance girls (Caroline and Hannah, who placed in the 1600 and 3200) who put Maranacook on the scoreboard at KVACs!
Best of luck to everyone at the state championships!
-Abby Mace
