Life of a College Runner: My Race

Hello friends! This is a big week for me. It’s indoor conference! That means a bit of tapering, a bit of preparing, a bit of freaking out, and a lot of indoor running! I hope you enjoy this entry.

Monday

4 miles, 34:55 (8:44/mile)

This was a slow morning. I’m not entirely sure why, but my legs felt like lead and my stomach didn’t feel great. That could be anything in the mornings. I did strides and core after. I felt bad it was short, but that was all I had time for in the end.

Steeple this afternoon was good. I worked on my trail leg. We did 3 in a row this time! I’m getting better at those trail leg drills, on both sides, actually. Then my jumps were good. They weren’t great, but they weren’t bad. It wasn’t as great as last week, but I didn’t have that same anger either. All in all, I think it was a success. I even jumped with my other leg and it wasn’t as terrible as it has been. Improvement!

Tuesday

5.5 miles

My last morning workout with Coach Jerry, I think. And it went really well! We did an 800 at threshold pace (3:26), then 2 x 800 at CV pace (3:18–3:20), then 2 x 400 at 5k pace (93–95), and finally 2 x 200 fast. I ended up running 3:25, 3:17, 3:18, 90, 93, and then 35 and 34 for the 200’s. It felt incredibly easy. I hit all my times with some room to spare comfortably. It felt so nice to have a good workout like that feel easy. I know it is the week of conference so we’re not pushing anything, and it is supposed to be easy, but it does the spirit good. Jerry told me I have speed and I should use it at the end of my races. I’m not sure if I can actually have speed at the end of a 5k, but I can sure as heck try. He said a 34 at the end of a workout is not slow, and not to underestimate myself. I guess I’ll keep that in mind.

Wednesday

4 miles, 32:40 (8:10/mile)

I got to run with Erin this morning! It was really nice. We talked a lot, as is our habit when running together. It was kind of therapeutic. Also it was pretty nice out. We did town loop, and we did core when we got back. I’ve had low mileage this first half of the week, but I know I’m going to rack up the miles at the meet this weekend, so I’m okay with it. Jerry let me know yesterday that I am for sure running the 5k and 3k this weekend. I am so excited!

Thursday

4 miles, 32:41 (8:10/mile)

Just an easy treadmill morning for me, a little pre-meet day. Home Free and The Killers kept me company mostly. I had a wrestler running next to me for a bit, which was actually kind of interesting. It’s always interesting to see how other sports run. It was a short quick run (inside because it was snowing and screw that), and I did some strides after. I feel really good, actually. I feel ready.

Tonight, I missed the team meeting because it was moved up from 7 to 4:30 at night. Today was not a great day, but I tried to brush it off, especially while talking to my teammates and coaches. What’s going on in my life is not as important as the mindset I have to be in for this weekend. I have to push it aside and get things done. That’s easier said than done, especially if you’re someone who is ruled by their emotions (which I am). But I talked to Jerry, and he showed me the heat sheets. I would be in the 5k with Becca, and I am in the slow heat of the 3k. Jerry corrected me and said there is no such thing as a “slow heat,” there’s only a “fast heat” and a “faster heat”. I am in the slow heat. It doesn’t make me feel bad to say that. I mean, I was upset at first, because all of my teammates were in the “faster heat”. My thoughts ended up going something like this:

Well, this is pointless then. There’s no way I can run a fast time with no competition.

I’ll just have to run my own race. Don’t worry about everyone else. This will take some of the pressure off me to do well.

This is fitting. I’m ending my season exactly as it began and has been: on my own.

Eventually, I realized there are some pro’s to running in the slow heat on my own. I don’t have to worry about anyone else but myself. I actually prefer warming up by myself for races. I can do what I need to in my own time and don’t have to worry about anyone else’s schedule. I can be in my own head-space as well, which is always important before a race. Even though I’m the second-fastest seeded time and the first is only a second ahead of me (my current PR), I still think I can run a good race. I am good at doing things on my own, and this is no different. With or without someone pushing me, I can run a good race and — hopefully — PR.

It will be interesting. The two races I’m in will be run much differently. The 5k is all about strategy; Coach wants Becca and I to try to score, so we need to be close to the top 8 the whole time. My goal is to try to stay in the top 10 for the first half, then try to make my way up to score. On the other hand, the 3k will be all about a PR for me. I’m pretty much counting on winning my heat as well, but the PR is what I’m going for. I do not want to end my senior indoor career without a new 3k PR.

I told Coach this would be my best indoor conference ever, and he said that’s the kind of attitude he’s looking for. What he doesn’t know is that I didn’t set much of a bar for myself there. None of my indoor conferences have been spectacular. Let’s recap for a minute:

Freshman year — this is completely embarrassing — was a shit show. Anyone who watched it will tell you it was the saddest, most pathetic-looking 5k in the history of ever. Let’s just say I was very sad at the time, and I ended up running 21:30. Sophomore year, I PR-ed in the 3k by less than a second. It wasn’t a very good race. I could have run way better, but I fell flat. Junior year, I was in Rome and didn’t run at conference at all, so that doesn’t really count for anything. So, basically, this year, it can only get better (I hope). And I have high hopes for the weekend.

Friday

8 miles

Today was the first day of indoor conference, and it went spectacularly!!! I started off the day with a shake-out run as soon as we got to Grinnell. Then, after waiting a couple of hours, I did my warm-up with Becca and we got ready to go. As we stretched and put our spikes on, the men’s 5k started. And, let me tell you, that is what got me pumped up to race. Aaron, our top runner, ran a great race and finished 2nd, and Paul finished 4th!! It was incredible to watch, and I was jumping up and down and screaming by the end. That is what I love about track, getting excited for other people’s amazing races.

My 5k was pretty great. We got out fast in around a 40 or 41. For reference, I was planning on running 47’s and 48’s the whole time (that’s seconds per lap, by the way. For those of you who don’t know, as I guess I haven’t mentioned this before, an indoor track is 200 meters, so the 5k is 25 laps around). Then I slowed down so that I was running 45’s for a while, which was still scary. I came through the mile in 6:09 and made a face, knowing that was too fast. I eventually settled into a nice pace, way back in 15th place, and just kind of ran my own race. I held my position for a bit and then started moving up about halfway through. I was feeling pretty good the whole time, up until the last couple of laps. Plus, of course, I had all my teammates cheering for me along the sides. And my parents, of course! They showed up for both days! The last couple of laps, I put myself into it and passed as many people as I could, ending up in 10th place. I finished in 19:37. I was shocked by my time, actually. Not only did I run over a minute faster than my last 5k this season, I was only 4 seconds off my outdoor PR! That’s pretty darn amazing for me!! Coach Jerry came up to me afterwards, gave me a side hug, and told me, “You know, Morgan, I would say we’re back, but we were never gone.” We were both so happy.

And, just like always, my mom was waiting by the finish to congratulate me and take pictures. After talking to people for a while, I finally left to go do my cool-down. My calves were really sore, so I wore my calf sleeves for the night to try to help. Coach also instructed me to chug a Body Armor to help get electrolytes in me to recover. I still had a big race the next day, after all. Actually, after my 5k, I couldn’t even fathom running a 3k the next day. I kind of wanted to be done. But I knew I could still do great things in that race, so I pushed the thought aside. Watching the other races was just as fun. We had an awesome 4 x 200 right at the end. I also spent some time watching field events. The meet was over before I knew it, and we drove home. Time to do it all again tomorrow!

Saturday

6.5 miles

Oh my goodness. What a day!! I can’t wait to tell you all about it. I started the day off exactly the same as yesterday. I did a mile and a half long shake-out and watched field events. Today, I actually thought a lot about my pre-race rituals. I just finished The Martian on the bus, and I compared what I do to Mark Watney running systems checks on all of his equipment and making sure the air won’t kill him. It sounds dumb when I type it out, but it sounded like the perfect analogy in my head (and it sounded cooler). Basically my top priority was re-hydrating. After that, it was trying to figure out what was wrong with my stomach, whether I should eat or not, and doing the math in my head to figure out what time I should warm up.

When all of that freaking out was done, I eventually warmed up. But not before I watched the men’s and women’s DMR, which has always been one of my favorite indoor events to watch. We ran pretty well, and it was an emotional roller coaster for sure. The DMR is just crazy because the race can change in an instant. Anyway, I went to warm up on my own. I usually go faster on my warm-up when I’m by myself, so it didn’t surprise me that I suddenly had more time on my hands than I expected when I got back from doing my 2 miles. I felt nervous during that warm-up because my legs felt tired. Like “I-just-ran-a-5k-yesterday” kind of tired. I hoped that if my lungs could keep up, so could my legs.

I grabbed my spikes and headed for the track. I am kind of superstitious when it comes to pre-race activities and rituals. So this is kind of how it goes: I go to the bathroom, run 2 miles, go to the bathroom again, grab my spikes and water bottle and head to the track, check in and get my hip numbers, do plyometric stretches, put my spikes on, do at least 3–4 strides, and then drink some water and mentally prepare. Oh, and I also do a ninja kick in the air and scream, “THIS IS THE PLACE WHERE DREAMS ARE MADE!” But that is just to get myself pumped up. I knew what I was doing as soon as I stepped out on the line. I figured I would hang back the first lap or two to see what people do, but, if it wasn’t going fast enough for me, I planned to take off and run my own race. I would do what I had to do to run that PR.

Then, I was off. We came through the first lap in 42, I believe, which was alright. It was a little fast, but I expected that for the first lap. The girl seeded first took the lead, but then immediately stepped on the breaks after lap one. I hung behind her to see what the split was. 47. I immediately passed her and set my own pace. For the first k or so, I was running 44’s and 45’s, which I knew was fast, but I didn’t want to slow down yet. It felt too easy. I also had a Lake Forest girl on my shoulder that I didn’t want to pass me. This was my race. I wanted to leave her in the dust. I felt incredibly smooth the whole time, and I was in my own little world. After I took the lead, I heard the announcer say my name and was taken aback for a second. But then I realized, the bell lap would be for me. That hasn’t happened a lot, but I love it when it does. I’m sure that thought spurred me into taking the lead more aggressively, and keeping that Lake Forest girl back. I eventually widened the gap between us. Max was taking my splits and yelling them at me, and I was a bit concerned when he kept telling me I was running 47’s. That time wouldn’t get the job done. I kept trying to pick it up to 46’s, but it was difficult. I came through the mile in 6:06 and applied pressure for the next five laps. I wanted to hurt during this middle k of the race. I wanted to make my race a good one. I lapped a couple of girls. I told myself I should try to pick up my legs and use that “knee drive” thing I did in the 4 x 400 a few weeks ago. Before I knew it, that bell was ringing for me. I picked up my knees as best I could and took off. I finished in 11:29. A 7-second PR to end my indoor career! I was ecstatic. My mom was right there to congratulate me. Jerry gave me a big hug and told me congrats. Now that was a race I could feel proud of. I ran well. And I ran a PR all by myself! And I felt pretty good while doing it. My last lap ended up being a 42. Ha! That’s pretty fast for the end of a race. I guess I am pretty speedy.

Full of jubilant pride, I stepped off the track… and immediately felt pain in my lower right leg. I don’t know if it’s my lower calf or my Achilles tendon, but something hurts really bad. I managed to lop my way through a mile cool-down with a walking break in the middle. I was basically limping around the rest of the day. It was pretty painful. As of right now, I can’t tell what it is. I just hope it gets better soon. Anyway, the meet ended in the blink of an eye, and we packed up to go home. Except I didn’t go home on the bus. Brett picked me up and drove me to his house! I got to spend the rest of the weekend with him, which was just lovely. Which, in turn, leads me to…

Sunday

OFF

I took today off. I hated to, but I tried running and it hurt. I’m not sure if it’s just muscle soreness or if I actually hurt something, but I don’t think it’s the latter. I think I just ran 40 laps of races around an indoor track and my legs hurt. But it was such a gorgeous day and I didn’t want to waste it. I took a long walk with Brett around his little neighborhood. It was so nice. We actually jogged a little bit, before I found out that was a little painful. I’m just glad I got to do some physical activity outside.

I ended the day with some golden milk with Jerry and the team. I told him about my leg, and he felt my leg and determined that my calves were very tight, and that I should take some cal-mags tonight. Those are calcium magnesium pills that are supposed to help with tightness and stuff. So here I am, sitting in my bed, typing this all out and trying to get myself to take these huge pills before bed. I need to quit stalling.

Anyway, that was my week. It was pretty spectacular. It had some ups and downs, but there were definitely more positives to it. I closed out my season with my best races. I ran a PR! And I did not give up on myself. I have just one week left of student teaching, then I’ll be done. I can focus on outdoor. I am out for blood in outdoor. I’m going to train my hardest to meet my goals. The old Morgan is coming back for sure. People had best be ready for it!

Thank you so much for reading!

— Morgan