<p style="text-align: center; ">
<img src="http://cache.milesplit.com/user_files/83782/35421/me_logo_hires.jpg" /><img src="http://cache.milesplit.com/user_files/83782/35421/fallathleteblogs.png" /></p>
Hey Everyone!
A lot has happened since my last blog--the homecoming football game (Maranacook won!!), the homecoming dance, a race at Cony, and a pre-race spaghetti dinner at Caroline's house. Spaghetti dinners are a ritual for the Maranacook cross country team. Each week, we gather at a teammate's house to fuel up on heaping mounds of starchy white pasta, white bread, and desserts chock-full of easily digestible carbs. Amidst a plate of starches that will skyrocket one's blood sugar levels lies a few skimpy lettuce leaves laced with salad dressing. After all, we'll need plenty of energy for the race ;)
When my teammates and I had finished our carbo-loading, we decided to play a game of scatterball. For those of you who don't know what scatterball is (in the Maranacook school district, it's an elementary school recess favorite), it's a game similar to dodgeball. The only exceptions are that there are no organized teams (unofficial alliances, however, can be formed) and when someone is hit with the ball, he or she must remain frozen until someone with the ball decides to "scatter" it by throwing it in the air, bringing all of the people who were "out" back in. The game was going very well (I had an alliance with Louis, Taylor, and Ashley--the other seniors--and we were dominating!) until we introduced an additional ball into the game. With two balls going at once, people became less focused on the other people around them and more focused on the balls.
This was the case when Kai and Toby, two of our new members, collided. The impact was hard, as both boys were on the ground instantly. Toby sat up first, a steam of blood forming from his brow. I covered my mouth with my hands and gasped. "Toby's bleeding!" I yelled. The team rushed to the scene, helping Toby get on his feet. Kai was still laying on his back, his hands resting beneath his head. I was afraid Kai had a concussion, but he said he wasn't dizzy, nor was his vision blurry. As he sat up, he looked at his hands to find that they were covered in blood! At this point, I screamed a little, because I don't do so well with blood. Kai had cut his head, and it was a fairly deep cut. Once everyone saw that Kai and Toby's injuries were more severe than we first thought, everyone did their best to take care of them. We showered Kai's head with water to clean the cut and brought out countless paper towels to absorb as much blood as we could. I always thought that our team was close--we love to joke around, hang out at spaghetti dinners and play games after practice. But I never thought about how we'd handle an obstacle like we did last week. The way our team took care of each other was a prime example of our maturity and the close-knit community we have. The spaghetti dinner last week at Caroline's made me love my team even more!
One last note--I hope everyone is getting pumped for Festival of Champions! It's going to be a great day of races. See you there!
-Abby Mace
