The Final Countdown: 13 Days to my Goal Race

Well, I knew I would eventually get to the point where time is running out. There is no magical workout that is going to make or break my final collegiate xc race. There will be some final sharpening workouts, but nothing that will break me down.

I remember my freshman year, 4 years ago, I was a top 7 runner throughout the year on a team that finished last in their conference championships. I was scared. I had doubts. I was not physically prepared to compete against the runners in my conference and in my region. After my freshman campaign, I said I am going to contribute to this team in some way by my fourth and fifth year.

Well as I have continued my collegiate xc career, I have continued to improve but I have still never felt like I contributed to the team. All the work and nothing to show for it.

Once I got to my third and fourth year, I began to believe my teammates were on another level than myself. I started to think that the best I could do for this team was be a top 7 runner in the 8k races. I set my sights on my best event: the 10k xc race at regions, where I believed I could be a top 5 runner for the team and finally contribute.

After this past track season, I brought a level of focus to my running that would only be surpassed by the most dedicated collegiate and professional runners. When you only have one last shot you are willing to do anything to make it count. You start to recover from workouts faster. You start to get overly giddy and excited for tempo runs, long runs, intervals. You start to see out of a new pair of eyes. You know the importance of every workout and that there can be no bad workouts if you are going to acheive your goal.

It gives me goosebumps, even right now as I write this post, to think how far I have come this past half year. It wasn't by chance. It was a summer filled with quality long runs, tempo runs and tempo-paced fartlek. A summer with 3 hours of core work a week. A summer where three times a week I would perform body-weight exercises, and do fast strides in between the body weight exercises. These exercises would take about 20-30 minutes 3 times a week. Then I would follow up those exercises with a series of ankle weight exercises-hamstring curls, and three other exercises. This would take 15 minutes 3 x a week. Once the school year started I have tried to keep up with my core, probably averaging 1 1/2 hours a week. I have been doing weights but I still do the ankle weight exercises(the hickey routine) on my own 2 x a week on non-race weeks and one time on race weeks.

As a result of this work, I am stronger than I have ever been. My hamstring has given me no problems thanks to the hickey routine. Aerobically, I can clip off 6:00-6:10 miles on a long run comfortably. My lungs are strong, from the intervals we have run. I can go out harder in races without being forced into oxygen debt immediately.

This weekend was my final conference championships. Going into the race I was scared, nervous, I had doubts just like Pre-Nats. But I had a game plan. Get out, stick with Garad, finish. The same three goals I had at Pre-Nats. I had a time goal because we had run this course 4 weeks earlier, and I knew that if I had a great day I would like to run 25:15, and I thought if our team had a great day our top 5 would be right at or under 25:10.

I viewed the conference championships as a stepping stone towards my final goal, the region championships. If I finished outside of the top 7 on the team, I would not be taken to my goal race. If the region championships are my version of running in the 10k in the olympics, then the acc championships became my version of running in the U.S. olympic trials.

As I stepped to the line, the doubt faded, my nerves calmed and my fears disappeared. All I thought was my mantra: Get Out, Stick with Garad, Finish. The gun went off, and there was a false start, so we lined up again. The next time the gun went off I executed my game plan. I got out in a decent position for myself, a 4:53 first mile. I came through 2k in 84th place and 6:13. I came through 5k in 63rd place and 15:53 and I finished the race in 49th place with a time of 25:09. I pushed the downhills and relaxed on the uphills. You would be surprised how many people allow themselves to catch their breath going downhill. Well, while they put 2 seconds on me going up the hill, I put another 3 seconds on them for the downhill.

Halfway through the race, I heard my coach yelling at me that I was doing great. I must have looked strong but I certainly did not feel it. I was hurting, my legs felt like they weren't going to make it if I continued on at my current pace, but this race was make or break. I focused on catching the next competitor and then the next and so on and so on. The feeling in my legs like I wasn't going to make it got no worse and I began to realize that I was going to make it around 6k. As I approached 7k, I saw our team's top runner and I focused on catching up to him and working with him to the finish.

The ACC championships were the best race I have ever run, but it was not my goal race. My goal race is 13 days away. I am physically fit, physchologically confident and I still have my last shot at collegiate xc.