Just to start us off I'd like to say that first of all I have no idea what a "shanquet" is and second of all I know the only thing I ever talk about is running, but bear with me.
August, Highland Invitational: 1st place JV girl from Stansbury, shattering my old PR with a time of 22:18. I was so totally focused on loving the act of racing that I actually smiled at a friend who was cheering for me in the 3rd mile, easily the hardest one.
September, DPC: DPC stands for Deseret Peak Challenge. Deseret Peak is a mountain. The challenge is running up it. We leave the school at 5:00 on a Saturday morning and spend the next 4 hours laboriously trudging up the mountain, only to arrive at the top and discover it is windy and freezing, but also breathtaking. I personally don't think the Tooele Valley is much to look at except from a height. The best views come after the hardest climbs.
September, Settlent Canyon: another PR, 21:49. I love running through trees and this race in particular I felt like I was flying down the trail. It's one of my favorite feelings.
September, Bob Firman Invitational, Boise ID: Now this race is a big deal. Teams from all over the western United States come to race and the place is crowded with runners and coaches and families. The top 20 medal and I didn't think I stood a chance until Coach yelled that I was in 15th at mile 1. It took some crazy determination to hold onto my position but I finished in 18th and earned myself a medal! I don't know if I've ever been so happy in my life.
December, Footlocker: The last race of my XC career. My goal was to enjoy myself as much as possible, to really relish the act of giving my all to something that mattered to me, even if it hurt, because I knew it would anyway. I was one of three girls from my school in that race and last year I finished well behind the other two. A mile in, I was happy but not surprised to still be with them because I knew I'd worked much harder this year. But then we hit the switchbacks and the hills and I took off. I didn't PR that race, but I did beat both of those girls, something I'd never done before, and I did run my best race.
Tonight we had our annual celebrate-the-end-of-cross-country-season banquet, which is really just a lot of pizza and junk food in a school cafeteria. And really we're not celebrating the end of cross country (because with these people it never really ends) as much as we're looking back on all we've done, how far we've come, (which is a pretty long way in my case).
For me, the season started at HARC, (see previous posts), a 4 day trek into the woods to run up mountains twice a day for the fun of it. That week was kind of the ultimate kickoff to the best season of my life, but it was the weeks and weeks of training beforehand, waking up early every day all summer to run in the heat, going to bed late after evening jaunts on the golf course, that really prepared me to be able to do everything I did.
Here's some of my season highlights, just because I like to brag about myself and this seems like a good place to do it.
August, Highland Invitational: 1st place JV girl from Stansbury, shattering my old PR with a time of 22:18. I was so totally focused on loving the act of racing that I actually smiled at a friend who was cheering for me in the 3rd mile, easily the hardest one.
September, DPC: DPC stands for Deseret Peak Challenge. Deseret Peak is a mountain. The challenge is running up it. We leave the school at 5:00 on a Saturday morning and spend the next 4 hours laboriously trudging up the mountain, only to arrive at the top and discover it is windy and freezing, but also breathtaking. I personally don't think the Tooele Valley is much to look at except from a height. The best views come after the hardest climbs.
September, Settlent Canyon: another PR, 21:49. I love running through trees and this race in particular I felt like I was flying down the trail. It's one of my favorite feelings.
September, Bob Firman Invitational, Boise ID: Now this race is a big deal. Teams from all over the western United States come to race and the place is crowded with runners and coaches and families. The top 20 medal and I didn't think I stood a chance until Coach yelled that I was in 15th at mile 1. It took some crazy determination to hold onto my position but I finished in 18th and earned myself a medal! I don't know if I've ever been so happy in my life.
December, Footlocker: The last race of my XC career. My goal was to enjoy myself as much as possible, to really relish the act of giving my all to something that mattered to me, even if it hurt, because I knew it would anyway. I was one of three girls from my school in that race and last year I finished well behind the other two. A mile in, I was happy but not surprised to still be with them because I knew I'd worked much harder this year. But then we hit the switchbacks and the hills and I took off. I didn't PR that race, but I did beat both of those girls, something I'd never done before, and I did run my best race.
So what was different this season than my past two? I can't say I ate better, or slept better, or ran more. The only thing that changed was that I CARED more and decided I loved running more than I was afraid of running. When I stopped treating pain as a bad thing, stopped being scared of hurt or failing, I was able to accomplish so much more and the satisfaction I got out of it increased immensely.
I won't say everyone needs to run to feel fulfilled. I will say that your life satisfaction will increase as you invest your heart and soul in something truly worthwhile. When we live with faith, in ourselves, in God, in our abilities, rather than fear, we can accomplish ANYTHING.
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