Hi fellow trackies,
So this is my first blog for the outdoor season and I love being able to sort of connect with you all through them. I really wanted to start off with a more personal blog and talk about how I am feeling currently about the beginning of my junior year, outdoor track season. Maybe some of you can relate!
Junior year can be really stressful for the student-athlete. While school is coming to an end, time to get the best stats in track are too. I have always been told that your junior year is going to be one of the most crucial times to show colleges what you are capable of if you have aspirations to run collegiately. Where I have do aspirations of competing at the elite level in college, I find myself getting frustrated and worried about whether or not my times are "good enough" now, to prove to colleges that I am capable of competing at that elite level one day. The annoying thing about outdoor track is that the weather has a mind of it's own. "Oh, it's April and supposed to be getting really sunny and warmer? Let me just throw in a tiny snow storm." Yeah...that's outdoor for ya! Last Saturday was my first track meet and I was really excited to be able to see where I was. I ran the 1600m and the 4x4. I made it my goal to be at least under five min for the mile, however when we got to the meet, it was cold and windy. Not the perfect conditions for trying to beat five. When I got up to the starting line, I was ready. I had my splits and I was going to run it as hard as I could despite the nasty conditions. As I raced around the track, I realized that the wind was going to be coming towards me the last 200m of each lap. It was discouraging but I tried to keep the pace. When I came across the finish line, I heard them shout, "5:05." My heart sank a little and I was disappointed that I couldn't have run faster. After talking with my coaches and family, they finally convinced me to not be so down on myself about the time that I had just ran. The weather was just not in the favor of anyone competing that day. My point is that outdoor is a totally different animal than indoor. Times are going to fluctuate due to temperature, wind, etc. All you can do is keep training smart and hard. Outdoor is an opportunity to not focus so much on your times, but learning to overcome the obstacles that mother nature is going to throw at you each meet. I have already seen some really impressive times, jumps and marks and I am so excited to be able to watch those get even faster, higher and longer. Best of luck to everyone that competed today and this weekend!
Quick shout out to some of the coolest track kids I know. (Brinsley Chasse, Amber Westley, Becky Lopez-Anido) Also, another shout out to Mary-Brenna Catus for absolutely SLAYING her past two track meets. The progress that this girl has made is unreal. I feel blessed to be able to call her one of my closest friends. Love you girls.
-Tia
