Tyler White is a senior at Orono High School, he finished 14th in the Class C State meet last fall. White is the 5th fastest returner in 2012, he is coming off a string outdoor season that saw him finish 4th in the outdoor 3200m 10:06.21. Follow Tyler in his journey this fall on the trails.
So here I am again, sitting in my dreadful block 2 pre-calc class chipping away at another blog. It has been an awesome opportunity to be able to share what I, and my teammates have been working really hard for and all season. We (and I) 
are 2/2 in postseason meets, and Saturday will be the final test of how hard we have worked all season. Winning PVC's was fantastic, and winning Eastern Maines even more so; but that is just the stepping stones for what Saturday's competition could have in store.
Since the blazing mid-August morning preseason runs, to the freezing late afternoon repeats in the crisp autumnal October air, there has been one goal the whole season. We knew going in that with the veteran Eastern Maine champion leadership of 2 runner Schuyler Collett, the consistency of 3 runner Brian Westhoven, the best-friend rivalry of 4 and 5 runners Josh Marquis and James O'Neil pushing each other to drastic improvements, the 5 people battling it out for the 6-7 positions (Conall and Liam) and the front running capability of myself, we had all of the ingredients to make a viable run at the Class C state championship.
We arrived at the ever-dreaded Ellsworth course to partake in the PVC championship against team like Ellsworth, Caribou, Bangor Christian and MDI. We worked very hard the week before the meet, (to prepare for later races) and it had most people on the team feeling quite flat, including myself. The gun went off and I focused on getting up towards the front. After circling the football field a couple times, we were off to climb the mountain that awaited ahead. I knew right off that I just felt out of sync, my breathing wasn't in coordination with my stride and my stride was inconsistent. After Dan detached from the field, I lead the second pack through the mile in a conservative 5:34. After that, Robert Looker took the lead and controlled the pace for the second mile going through in a painful 11:18. (The second mile is the slowest because of the course) And after about 2 1/4 miles, I made the mental decision that I had to pick it up and try and separate despite all of the negativity I was having previously. I pushed through the pain and made up ground on the coasting Dan Curts and split a 5:04 last mile to cross the line in 16:22. I was surprised by my time because it felt a lot worse, seeming how I had run 17 flat earlier this season on the same course. Our team raced to a level they hadn't all year, and really crushed their times from earlier in the year, most were by at least a minute!! We took home the Small School championship, and when scored together we would have placed 2nd overall regardless of class. We quickly got back to work the next week, focusing on bigger tasks.
The weather forecasts slowly got worse all week, and the rain poured on our way over to Belfast. After seeing the condition of the somewhat-lucky Class A runners, (lucky as in they got the course first) it was quickly evident that times were no longer of importance which was a bummer, but also took a ton of stress/pressure off of the pre-race routine. We took the line after what will probably be the messiest warmup of our lives, and the gun was off and the slippery mudbath followed. Sam Stahnke is a fierce
competitor and he took the pace out hard. Dylan Merchant of BC followed behind him. I made the mistake of not preparing for every circumstance that could happen during the race. (Such as someone else taking control of the race) I tried not to panic, and I focused on running a smart first mile in my trained pace despite the leaders being 5-10 seconds ahead for most of the first half of the race. I cruised through the mile in 5:23, and the leaders in about 5:14. The long gradual uphill proceeded, and I then realized that my legs were very tired and once again I did not feel very strong. I pushed through what was probably the sloppiest part of the course and slowly caught up to Dylan. I passed Dylan at the 1.5 going into the forest, and Sam was still a solid 5 seconds in front. I got on his shoulder leaving the woods, and rode behind him for the next half mile. I passed him heading into the first up-and-down hill and then just focused on pushing the pace trying to create a comfortable gap. I knew that even though I did not feel up to par, if I could stress the hills and push on the flats I would not feel guilty about poor results after the race. I ended up getting the best of Sam, but I expect him to be up front this weekend as he is a strong runner. After finishing in a pretty solid time considering we had nearly the worst conditions of the day, I watched our boys come in at top pack-running fashion as a 36 second gap separated our 2-6. and also our 3 runner decided to take it up a notch and defeat our 3 by 10 seconds. I was extremely proud of the team for never backing down a second of the race, even though there were plenty of excuses to be used. Winning Eastern Maines was pretty incredible, but it just has us hungrier for a state title. (As a side note, we would have finished second in Class B by a pretty solid margin)
competitor and he took the pace out hard. Dylan Merchant of BC followed behind him. I made the mistake of not preparing for every circumstance that could happen during the race. (Such as someone else taking control of the race) I tried not to panic, and I focused on running a smart first mile in my trained pace despite the leaders being 5-10 seconds ahead for most of the first half of the race. I cruised through the mile in 5:23, and the leaders in about 5:14. The long gradual uphill proceeded, and I then realized that my legs were very tired and once again I did not feel very strong. I pushed through what was probably the sloppiest part of the course and slowly caught up to Dylan. I passed Dylan at the 1.5 going into the forest, and Sam was still a solid 5 seconds in front. I got on his shoulder leaving the woods, and rode behind him for the next half mile. I passed him heading into the first up-and-down hill and then just focused on pushing the pace trying to create a comfortable gap. I knew that even though I did not feel up to par, if I could stress the hills and push on the flats I would not feel guilty about poor results after the race. I ended up getting the best of Sam, but I expect him to be up front this weekend as he is a strong runner. After finishing in a pretty solid time considering we had nearly the worst conditions of the day, I watched our boys come in at top pack-running fashion as a 36 second gap separated our 2-6. and also our 3 runner decided to take it up a notch and defeat our 3 by 10 seconds. I was extremely proud of the team for never backing down a second of the race, even though there were plenty of excuses to be used. Winning Eastern Maines was pretty incredible, but it just has us hungrier for a state title. (As a side note, we would have finished second in Class B by a pretty solid margin)
So, pre-calc is just about over and I need to scurry off to my next class. The next week should keep me on my toes as it includes State Meet, October 6th SAT scores, and the decision for National Honor Society. So hopefully I don't have a massive freakout in the near future...Congratulations to everyone who battled in insane conditions Saturday, and I will be looking forward to seeing you all on Saturday. Goodluck, and stay healthy for one more week!!!
-Tyler