In her own words: Hannah Steelman - Setting the Tone



    Hello, fellow XC runners, spectators, and all you other beautiful people!

    For those of you don't know me, I'm Hannah Steelman. I'm a senior at Orono
    High School, and I love to run. There's something about each race, workout, and run that
    makes me adore the sport more and more, and I'm so thrilled to have been asked to come
    back and blog again about my experiences throughout the course of the 2016 season.

    Besides running, I enjoy playing basketball, hanging out with friends and family,
    dancing around to blaring music that I also sing at the top of my lungs, eating apples,
    chocolate brownie Clif Bars, Chipotle, and Chick-fil-A, cheering for the Clemson Tigers,
    watching my boy Steph Curry and the Warriors, and Friends, visiting the South, wearing
    t-shirts that are two sizes too big for me, doing math, posting Insta-pictures, tweeting,
    snapchatting, adventuring, and loving Jesus.

    Enough about me... How exciting is it that XC season is finally here?! What a
    wonderful time of year this is. Soon enough the air will feel crisper, the trees will get
    prettier, the number of people lining up at Starbucks for their pumpkin spice lattes will
    grow larger, and the running shoes will get dirtier. I can hardly contain my excitement!
    With preseason already upon us, I thought it would be very important to talk
    about setting the tone. Establishing a mood or character for something-that's setting the
    tone. I believe that this is very important to do before approaching anything significant in
    life. Setting the tone for a great school year, for example, allows you to have a positive
    mindset that's open to the challenges you might face ahead. This can apply to this
    upcoming season as well.

    Setting the tone is entering anything with the mentality, "I'm going to do the best
    I can, no matter what is thrown at me." An attitude like this can take someone a long way,
    and I've learned this especially from running. Negative thinking drains energy. (and with
    running, you're gonna need that energy!)

    I've decided to enter this cross country season, my senior season, with the
    mindset of a winner. I want to make it clear that this doesn't apply to just races. This
    applies to every other great thing about the sport of XC. How am I going to set the tone
    for this season? I'm going to work the hardest, I'm going to smile the biggest, I'm going
    to be the most supportive teammate, I'm going to be the friendliest competitor, I'm going
    to strive the hardest to push through the pain, I'm going to be the toughest, and most
    importantly, I'm going to have the most fun. Anyone can have this mentality. Anyone can
    choose joy when entering this season, or anything you may approach, for that matter.
    Anyone can set the tone. This way, you can never lose.

    I hope you all will choose to set the tone for a great day today and everyday, a
    great school year, and a great cross country season, just as I will! I cannot wait to see
    what this season has in store, and I especially can't wait to see a lot of your lovely faces
    along the way.

    Have a great rest of preseason, and happy running 

    - Hannah