XC 2014: Thoughts on Training and Racing

Follow North Yarmouth Academy senior Hannah Austin during her senior xc season. Austin was the Class C state xc runner-up a year ago, and returns as the individual favorite to win the Class C title this fall. While she is small in stature she certainly makes up for with her grit & determination on the course.

 

Hi everyone! Sorry it’s been awhile!

It’s hard to believe that Cross Country season is now over. I for one am pretty sad, especially since it was my last Cross Country season of high school. Now I am nearing the end of a weeklong break from running. Although I’ll admit that it has been nice to leave school two hours earlier than usual, I am excited to start practices for Indoor Track next week!

This past Saturday, I finished up my season at the New England Championships in Manchester Connecticut. After a disappointing race at States, I didn’t think I would qualify for this meet, so was pleasantly surprised to find out that I did, although I probably had a bit of an advantage running earlier in the day when the course wasn’t so muddy! I went down the night before with my dad and my coach, which was really fun! The day of the race started out kind of cold, but actually turned out to be pretty nice. The course was really hard, and I didn’t run the time I was hoping for, but overall it was a great experience, and I am so glad that I got the opportunity to race against some really fast girls!


To be perfectly honest, in terms of my races, my season went a lot worse than I was hoping it would. There was no race throughout the whole season where I felt that everything really came together for me and allowed me to race well. However, even though I wish this had been different, disappointment and regret are definitely not the first thoughts that come to me when I think back on this cross country season. Instead, I think of how much fun I had with my wonderful team, and the overall success we achieved. We started out with many girls who were new to the team, and had not run very much over the summer. However, it soon became clear that this was not going to stop my team from improving. Many girls dropped minutes off their times as the season went on, which was amazing. Our greatest achievements happened at the meets that mattered most: Regionals and States. At Regionals, we went in hoping to take the last spot to States, and ended up placing third, just one place out of earning a plaque. Then, at States, we were guessing we’d finish pretty low down but found ourselves in fifth. At that meet, probably around half of the girls achieved huge PRs, and the rest were close to their best times! Though these achievements are definitely astounding, what I will remember most about this wonderful team is how much fun we had this season. We all got along really well, and were always talking and laughing together about something or other. We were always looking out for each other, both during practices and races, and were all able to always put the team first, which I believe is a very important thing to be able to do. Ellis, Abbie, Sarah, Sarah, Megan, Grier, Lea, Shelby, Maddie, Kate, Claire, and Louisa, thank you so much for being the best teammates I could possibly ask for. I am so lucky to have spent my last high school XC season with a team like you. I will really miss running with you next year. You made this Cross Country season that I will always remember fondly.

I hope all of you enjoyed your Cross Country seasons! For younger runners, enjoy every moment of your next seasons; they go by way too fast! I practically still feel like I’m in freshman year! For all of you running Indoor this year, I can’t wait to see you at the meets! It’s going to be a great season!


~Hannah