HS Bloggers: Heather Evans Blog #5

 

Follow York senior Heather Evans as she blogs about her indoor track season. Evans is a distance runner who runs the 800-2mile. She has personal best of 5:24.62 in the mile, 2:33.47 in the 800 & 12:10.54 for 2 miles. A year ago Heather placed 7th in the mile at the Class B state meet.

 

The Indoor season has come to end, for me at least. Best of luck to those who will be continuing their season at New Balance Nationals! I, on the other hand, will be taking a week off from running, eating chocolate fudge brownie ice cream, and lounging around in the comfy new sweatpants that I purchased at the meet yesterday!

This was my first experience at a New England meet for Indoor track, and it was an amazing one. Everything was so organized and official, I felt like an elite runner. All of the athletes were gathered in a gym in the Reggie Lewis Center, and once the meet began, we weren’t allowed to run on the track until our race. We were limited to the gym, and the vast city of Boston. Though thankfully, it was quite warm out! When it was time for the mile, they called all of us up to the front of the gym and explained what we were to do. They lined us up, and we marched out to the track in socked feet, spikes in hand. Once we got to the track, we were told to put on spikes our, and we were given about 10 minutes to do strides and jog around a little before being called to the line. The majority of this time was spent in silence. I was so nervous, and I could tell the other girls were too. I don’t usually get nervous before races, but the whole build up and intense atmosphere made me very anxious. I was seeded 8th in the slow heat, and 32nd overall. My only goal was to get a PR, which meant a sub 5:24. When the gun went off, my nerves dissipated and were replaced by excitement. Never had I been a participant in a meet with so many bystanders; the cheering was overwhelming. I was hovering right above 5:20 pace throughout the race, and to be completely honest, I don’t really remember each specific lap. I am anxious to see a race video, because the whole race is a blur to me! I ended up finishing 5th in my heat and 15th overall, with a much desired PR of 5:21! This was an experience I will never forget, and a spectacular end to my second senior season... One season to go!

 I can’t believe how fast this year is going by... 102 days until graduation! Though, the more shocking revelation to me, is that I only have one more season left as a high school athlete. My main goals going into this indoor season were to PR in the mile and 2mile. I consider this season a success because I met both of those goals! But the most important thing to me is that I stayed healthy. I am so excited for this outdoor season, (28 days!!!), because it will be the first outdoor season for which I have a solid base. Freshmen and sophomore outdoor seasons, I was coming off of a basketball season, and last year I was injured during the off season. So this season is already shaping up to be the best yet! I hope everyone trains hard, but don’t forget to take some much needed time off! See you all on the track! If all of this snow ever melts...

Have fun, train hard, and run happy! (: ~Heather