Together

The unique thing about racing is that every meet is so different. When you step onto the line, odds are you will face a different course, new competition, and varying conditions. Yet one thing has always been constant, our strong and courageous team. I have a lot of recapping to do over from throughout our most successful season yet, so I will hit the highlights.

We traveled up to North Carolina, (using our new Asics bags we won from the Embry-Riddle meet, obviously) to compete in the Great American XC festival. To me and majority of the team, this is our favorite course. Although there is a long, gradual up hill that you must run twice, the rolling hills along the back of the course lead for fast times. We all enjoyed the cool weather and PRing, as well as visiting the college campuses of Duke and NC State.

The very next week we were traveling again, this time to Tallahassee for Pre-States at FSU. After Great American, this is now my second favorite course. It also has rolling hills and great terrain.We got watch the collegiate runners compete the night before our race, which was very cool. The next morning after the gun went off and all our girls crossed the line, we were excited to learn that we had placed fourth in the elite race! The boys team also placed second in the "silver" race. This significantly moved us up in the 4A rankings, which only added to the glory. Also, HUGE congratulations to Megan for breaking the 20 minute barrier for the first time!

These final two meets are where the team work has really stepped up. Last weekend we tackled Mt. Dora's hills on the toughest course we run on all season. Together we battled sugar sand and pushed up every hill, until we had placed all five of our scoring runners in the top 10, bringing home the Varsity Girls trophy. I can't even begin to say how thankful I am to have such a strong and supportive team at meets like this. Varsity boys also took runner up, and JV boys & girls earned first place!

Finally, a bittersweet, but successful day this morning at Metros. The air was cool, the course flat, and the turns were sharp. However, we are extremely proud to say that both varsity and JV for boys and girls brought home wins! For our awesome JV, this was their last meet of the season, many the last race of their high school careers. I hope everyone enjoyed every aspect of the season, (yes, even mile repeats) because it only made us stronger in the end. Take the experiences you learned from racing, and never forget how strong  you are.

As for the varsity teams, we are only just getting started.

From Ratchet to Riches

I am no Tom Clancy, and definitely no Usain Bolt. But, I do enjoy sharing experiences and making the most out of memories. So these are stories from an average runner's triumphs, struggles, and adventures.

If there is one thing our team knows how to do well, it is to leave it all out on the course, and we have certainly done that these past two weeks. We kicked off our season last Saturday at the Trinity Prep Invite. As usual, Girls Varsity began the meet that morning. Within a quarter mile from the gun, we were trudging through mud. It had been a rainy week, and an exceptionally rainy Friday the night before. We faced some puddles which left us shin deep in mud, leaving our shoes nice and soggy. Fortunately for us, we hear other girls don't particularly enjoy getting a little muddy, and we were able to pass competitors as they splashed through the muck. 

As a team, we were very pleased with our performance placing first, with our top six individuals all within the top 14. The team also cheered as the announcer read that our JV boys had won as well, with Boys Varsity and Girls JV bringing home the runner-up trophies. I guess Coach W was right when she told us all summer, "Summer miles bring fall smiles." :)

This morning we had our second showing of the season at the Jim Ryun meet in Lakeland. The course is brand new, with this weekend being the first time it has hosted a meet. After serving as the mosquito's breakfast while setting up the tent, we headed out to preview the course and warm up. This was the first course I have ever ran on that was only one true lap, which was very exciting. The start of the Girls Varsity race also was eventful as Jim Ryun himself lead with a prayer, and signaled the start of the race. I'm pretty sure all the girls on the line were a little caught off guard when the gun went off with little, if any, of a "set."

Sadly, we came up a little short today coming in second by a measly five points. The course was extremely challenging, as we battled sugar sand and rolling hills. But, we knew that we all gave everything we had in us, and that's all that matters. We worked together as a team and today only served as better practice for the future. Plus, all top six girls got medals for placing individually, so that's always a bonus. Not to mention Boys Varsity & JV, and Girls JV all came top 3!

Overall, we have had a great start to the season and we are all eager to bring our times down. The best part about our team is all the laughs and jokes we share, hence the title to this post. (thanks Kait) We may or may not win every time, but we always have fun out there and learn more about ourselves and each other. Finally, if there's anything that we learned as a team this weekend, it's that we need to order these shirts, pronto!