First Meet!

Ladies,

Words fail me. I've never had a team execute as well on the first meet as you girls did tonight. Sure, I've had faster teams on the first meet, but they were healthy teams. You folks raced like mature racers, all of you, and that maximized what you were able to bring to the meet. That to me is more satisfying than teams that are faster but waste opportunities. You will get healthy. And you will be one of the best teams I've ever coached.

I cannot say enough how smart you girls were on the course. You stayed focused and in the moment. You fought through the bad moments. So what if the time wasn't what you expected? You fought for it all the way, and the times will come, trust me. So long as you always fight, the good comes.

So, setting aside the superlative for one moment, let's look at the breakdown. First, the order of finish and times:

• Shelby, 21:59, 7:05 mpm, 3rd
• Danielle, 22:05, 7:07 mpm, 6th
• Carrie, 23:16, 7:30 mpm, 10th
• Morgan, 23:32, 7:35 mpm, 12th
• Alli, 23:36, 7:36 mpm, 14th
• Bret, 25:04, 8:05 mpm, 30th
• Diana, 26:11, 8:26 mpm, 44th
• Chloe, 26:14, 8:27 mpm, 45th
• Summer, 28:26, 9:10 mpm, 67th

We scored 45 points to Seymour's 38, missing the win by only 7 points. The next closest team was Jennings County at 93 points, or over double our score. Take nothing away from Seymour, they deserved the win, but know this; they are beatable. Very. With a little work, a little luck, and a little health, we'll get it done. We'll see them again at Conference!

Some of you and your parents wanted to know before the meet what times to expect out of you. I didn't want to say, partially because I couldn't be sure, but the other part because so many of you are first-time racers. There's an indefinable quality in some athletes, something like a switch that turns on game day, where the impossible becomes possible. I've seen glimmers of it in some of you, so I couldn't be sure what would happen. 

But...

If you want to know how you could have known what to guess, look no farther than the latest tempo. A 3-mile tempo is an excellent predictor of 5k times. Whatever you tempo, you generally race. So, how did the last tempo go?

• Shelby, 22:01
• Danielle, 22:01
• Carrie, 2 miles at 8:15 pace
• Morgan, 24:01
• Alli, 24:42
• Bret, 25:16
• Diana, one mile at 8:55
• Chloe, one mile at 8:42
• Summer, one mile at 9:51

Got that? Shelby, Danielle, and Bret came in right on the prediction; the rest of you blew it away! I actually originally planned to run only 5 girls this meet (after last week's tempo). What a difference a week makes! There is no one to be upset about, no one that underperformed in comparison to her tempo, no one who raced outlandishly... it was a pretty great performance. Room for improvement? Of course. But as first meets go, they don't get much better. 

The thing I am most proud of is the control you all exhibited, followed by guts in the back half. You were patient, you let the race come to you. I have to say, Danielle and Shelby, that race was a masterpiece of team tactics. By focusing on one another and teaming up to break the girls ahead of you, you were able to overtake nearly every girl in the race by the end. You both ran your race. Great job!

Carrie, you are a hunter. The look in your eyes says it all - no fear. You set your jaw and started moving through the group like a pro. Fantastic!

Morgan, what can I say? Over the last two weeks you've dropped minutes from your time. As you've gotten healthier, you've certainly come around. I wish I could bottle some of that for the other hurt girls.

Alli, I know it's hard right now, but you did what I asked you to do. You started cautiously and built it up as the race went on. Remember, we were looking for an 8-minute pace, right? You brought it in in 7:36 mpm. It's a very good improvement over the last week. It's as fast as you've run all summer, and you only did it before on the perfect day. Today wasn't a terrible running day, but it was far, far from optimal. Oh, and you only did that pace on a much flatter course. For myself, I see it as nothing but improvement, and I'm extremely encouraged. 

Bret, confidence! I'm going to put both you and Zollman (boys' team) in a self-confidence seminar! You ran fine, very good actually, but we've got some easy time to get from you... the stride. You have to push it open, to relax with a more open gait. 

Diana, what do you think? What's it like to pass people the entire race? Kinda fun, wasn't it. And don't think I wasn't watching; I never once saw you raise your hands or give any other "tell". Outstanding, girl. You finished in the top half of the race and in our top-7. 

Chloe, way to fight through that back. I know it hurt. I saw you after you finished, I know it was killing you by the end. Way to tough it out, and it was a very solid race all around. 

Summer, you improved you minute-per-mile pace by 30 seconds from a week ago. That's huge. That's 1.5 minutes improvement in 3 miles!

Sometimes practice can frustrate you, and it can feel like you're not going anywhere. You are. You are ALL improving. We'll make the adjustments we need as we need to so we can keep you healthy and training. Just work hard, try always to get better, and you will!