Saying Our Goodbyes

Like I had stated in earlier posts, this team is a family. We act just like brothers and sisters and after the state meet had come to an end, we were all in tears. The end of state meant that it was our last meet together, the last time we get to warm up together and pump each other up, the last time we get to dance on the track and go crazy and that last time that we get to win together. Our relationships this past year have grown stronger than ever and even though it’s not the end of our friendship, it’s the end of something that meant so much to all of us. We didn’t necessarily care how we did individually, but as a team we hoped that if we were working hard together and having fun, we would succeed together and that’s exactly what happened. Each meet brought us closer together and the goodbye last Saturday was rough as can be. We didn’t think that this year would go by as fast as it did and it’s still weird not going to practices after school. Most of us just sit in the athletic hall and hang out because for almost 9 months, the track was our home. The experiences that I had as a Fort Collins Lambkin athlete will always remain in my heart and I know that the friendships I gained from this team will never be forgotten.

2nd place in the State Championships

All year I had been ranked 2nd in state for the 300 meter hurdles and when state came around I was a little nervous that something would happen. I wanted to win, who doesn’t? But I knew that it would be a challenge because one of my good friends, Kaylee Packham, was the defending state champ and a really good athlete. As we all got ready for prelims in the 300 meter hurdles, I thought to myself… If I want to win state I need to go all out in these prelims to prove to myself and everyone else that I can do it. Unfortunately, during my race I happened to hit every single hurdle with my opposite leg and I got 2nd in my heat. I wasn’t too upset because I knew it was prelims and I knew that if I could hit every hurdle right, then I would win or come close. As Saturday arrived I started to feel the nerves get to me. My stomach was aching so badly and I felt like I needed to throw up. The weather was also psyching me out because it was rainy and cold and I wasn’t prepared for that to happen. Once my race came around the weather started clearing up and I started feeling better, it was a miracle. I knew I could win and I had a great feeling about it. I was in lane 7 and my top competitors were in lane 5 and 6, I was nervous. As we came around the corner and hit the straight away all three of us were neck and neck fighting for the state title. Finally, Kaylee and I pull away from the other girl and start battling. As we hit the last hurdle I happen to stutter step and Kaylee goes full force and attacks it. She beat me by .4 seconds but I wasn’t at all upset. I had ran a 42.9 breaking my school record for the 6th time and running the 5th fastest time in the state to ever be run. I was happy as ever and knew that all my hard work had been paid off.   

Head Coach

The head coach of our track team is Conrad Crist. He had worked so hard in the last two years to build this team into a bunch of elite athletes. He has spent most of his time thinking of new work outs and ways to improve our team but also making sure we are all having fun and loving what we are doing.

Without him we wouldn’t be the athletes we are today. He’s done everything right for us and we all have peaked at the right time. He started workouts in early August and gave us the right amount of breaks and workouts to be successful by state time.

Friendships

Everyone knows that track is a co-ed sport. Our team is definitely one of the closest at this school and it shows; whether we are hanging out at practice or supporting each other at the meets. Everyone loves each other and we have all grown to be brothers and sisters. We may not always see things eye to eye but in the end we care about each other and that is why our team is so good. We all want to succeed so having each other on the same team helps when it comes to workouts and rough track meets because we push each other to get stronger and stronger.  All we want is the best for each other and to support each other no matter what we are going through. Like I said earlier, we are brothers and sisters, which means we can definitely get on each other’s nerves at times. We can get stressed out and start fighting about the silliest of things, but in the end we realize that we do love each other and want the best for each other. This team is a family and we’ve grown so close this year.

During the month of April, 6 of us at Fort Collins High School had qualified for the 2012 Arcadia Invitational in Arcadia, California. We flew out on a Thursday and came back on Easter Sunday. That was an experience of a lifetime and we all grew very close together.

STATE

As the year winds down, the stress level goes up. The month of May means that we have less than a month to get ready for state and for some people, get qualified for state. To make it to state you have to be top 18, once the state meet comes around there is usually two heats of each event meaning 9 people in one heat and 9 in the other (prelims) and to make finals in that event they take the top 9 fastest times from prelims. State is an exciting experience but anything can happen so you don’t usually expect to see the top 5 rankings in state finish top 5. Anxiety and nerves rise way high so falling over a hurdle, dropping a baton or even false starting is bound to happen but you’ll also see some spectacular performances in the end. 

http://chsaa.org/sports/track/

 Here is a link to find more about the state rankings and the state track and field meet

Competition within the team

Like I said earlier, the competition in Colorado is intense and some (if not most) of the fastest runners in the nation live here but what makes it even more intense is that Fort Collins High School has some of the best runners too. For a while it really sucked having to compete with your friends, making sure they didn’t beat you but also knowing they were your friends. On the plus side, as a team we are nationally ranked and that in team competition only made us better. During workouts we would push ourselves harder and harder each week and compete with each other to try and be the best. As everyone knows, girls can get jealous and just straight up mean so of course there was drama involved too, finally our coach had a team meeting and told us that we needed to start competing with each other rather than against each other. After that meeting we realized that when we put everything together and focus on the depth that we have, we can potentially be unstoppable. 

Learning from the best

Fort Collins High School has been lucky enough to have one of the fastest guys in the nation run for them and represent us well. Ray Bozmans recently ran the fastest time in the nation for both the 100 and 200 meter dash, qualifying him for a spot in the Olympic trials. Running with Ray is an awesome experience and he’s taught the team a lot. Ray works hard on and off the track and pushes everyone to do their best; he gives us the right advice and gives us confidence in ourselves as athletes. I can’t even imagine the kind of pressure he has as an athlete to excel in school and keep running faster than everyone else but he maintains his confidence and keeps proving to everyone that he’s the best. Watching him run inspires everyone on our team to do just as good because the feeling you get after winning and running an amazing time is beyond words. He keeps the team smiling no matter what and he is one person that will never give up. He’s like a brother to most of us on this team and we want nothing more than to see him go far in his track career.

http://www.9news.com/rss/story.aspx?storyid=264082

New Changes

For most of my track career, I never really imagined doing anything but sprinting and hurdling, mainly running the 100 meter dash and the 100 or 300 meter hurdles. I absolutely love the 300 hurdles; just thinking about the race gives me butterflies. I have a passion for hurdling and I am always looking for improvements. When I started my senior year I was ready to work hard so I could win the 300 hurdles at state but as the season progressed I started to realize that I was becoming good at the 200 too. I hadn’t ran the 200 in over a year and  a half so I didn’t know if I had potential or not. My coach entered me in the 200 at a meet and I was up against some really fast girls from Littleton and Arapahoe. I ended up winning the 200 and my time put me in as 2^nd in state. The only problem with running the 200 and the 300 hurdles is that they are back to back, but surprisingly enough, I keep breaking my personal record even when just running the 300 hurdles. It’s been a good change for me and it shows that I am not only in shape but good enough to run two events back to back and I never would have thought that the 200 would be my event.

Regional Champion

My first Junior Olympic championship was last year in the 400 meter hurdles, and it was a thrill. I came in to the race ranked 5^th and finished 1^st. I was upset with my prelims because I had to run scared (meaning I was in lane 8 and everybody else could chase me) so I used that anger and put it on the track. I ran a 1:03.67 making me top 10 in the nation for high school girls and it felt good to know that all my hard work had paid off. But running the 400 hurdles just flat out sucks, the first 300 meters is fine but once you hit the home stretch; your legs are tired, your arms are numb and you can barely breathe, (it reminds me of the 800.) But it’s also one of my favorite races, if I mess up on a hurdle, it’s not the end of the world and I still have a chance to win whereas in the 100 or 300 hurdles, you have to hit every hurdle with every step or you have less of a chance at getting first.

You have to lose sometimes

I am an extremely competitive person and I will admit that if I lose, I cry or get angry. I get down on myself if I place 2^nd or 3^rd in a race, even if I set a personal record that day. I race to win and winning to me is important. But I also know that I have to lose sometimes to realize that I need to continue to work hard and get better and better. To me, if I win every single race, I wouldn’t push myself as hard as I do and I would always think I’m the best there is. Losing sucks but I know that when I lose I get angry, and most of my fastest and best races have been when I was angry because it makes me want to work harder and harder to come back stronger next time, and win.

Staying healthy

It takes a lot to be a runner and even more to run all year round. I usually get about 2 months off from running, usually August and November and even though it doesn't seem like much time off, it feels like a lifetime. This year we started training early August and worked to improve our endurance and built it up so that once November came we could start lifting like crazy and riding the bike or elliptical to keep from losing it. When December and January hit we started our indoor season and did sprinting workouts to work on our speed and technique, when February/March time came around, we went back to working endurance and stayed with some sprints to prep us for our high school season. It usually takes a lot out of you to train everyday and make sure your body is healthy. During the indoor season I would train with my high school coach from 3-5 and then go to indoor practice with my club coach from 6-9. I get extremely tired and busy during those months and it's important for me to make sure that if my body isn't reacting well, that I need to change something with my workouts. Staying healthy for track has become a priority over the years and for me especially, it has helped me to improve.

My life

Running track in Colorado is an amazing experience. Some of the best girl runners in the nation come from Colorado and running against them have only made me a better athlete. Some people don’t consider track and field a sport because they think that anybody can run in circles but to people who actually play the sport, they know that it is a lot more than running in circles, and it takes dedication and commitment to run faster and be stronger than their competitors. We set goals after every year and we push ourselves to achieve those goals from August to May. The ones who want it the most are the ones who push themselves even in the off season.