Olympic Runners

                This weekend was Drake Relays. My sister was the only girl from Kennedy to participate in the Drake Relays but the boys track team had a lot of runners at the Drake Relays this weekend. The Drake Relays not only has high school students participating in the events but they also had college students and they even had professionals.

                My sister ran the 3000 meter race on Thursday so I went to support her on Thursday and to watch her race. I also went to watch the Drake Relays on Friday night. Friday night is one of the times when they have the most professionals running during the Drake Relays. It was really exciting and inspirational to watch all of the professional runners. It is really amazing to be able to see some of the runners that I look up to and that inspire me to run. During the national anthem and before every professional race at the Drake Relays they set off fireworks. Then all the athletes took to the track to compete at amazingly fast speeds. After the race the winners jog the outside of the track and I got to high five some of the great athletes.

                I was able to see the professionals run in the women’s shuttle hurdle, the women’s 1500 meter run, the 110 meter high hurdles and the 400 meter hurdles and I got to see some of the professionals high jump and pole vault. In the shuttle hurdle Lolo Jones was a member of the USA red team that went on to win the event. In the pole vault an athlete from Cuba won and someone from Jamaica won the 110 meter high hurdles. I also got to sit by the start of the 1500 meter race so I got to see all the professional runners line up and get ready to run their race.  It was really cool to see all of the runners because many of them were also Olympic runners and were some of the fastest runners in the world. I also enjoyed being able to see some of the college athletes run because it there times are a more realistic time for me to be able to reach some day.

Weightlifting

                Every day after school I have track practice which normally last a little under two hours. We start out the practice by running a two lap warm up around the track. Then we do some stretches and then we start are workout for the day. Then to finish up with practice we normally run a cool down and then sometimes we do an ab workout and that’s the end of practice. We have never lifted any weights this year at practice.

                Many track teams lift weights but are team does not. Cedar Rapids Jefferson’s girls track team lifts weights and they normally always have really good sprinters on their team. A girl who used to go to my school moved schools this year and was on our track team. Now she is running track for Solon and on their track team they have normal running practice for two hours after school and after that they also lift weights for an hour. She has been able to improve her running and her times a lot this year and I wonder if a lot of that has to do with the fact that this year she has started to lift weights where as in years past she has not.

                Not only do some of the good high school track teams lift weights but also many of the college athletes lift weights for track. Since some of the better high school track teams tend to lift weights and because a lot of the college track teams lift weights it might be beneficial for our team to consider to start to do some weightlifting. Doing weightlifting probably won’t hurt our running performance very much unless we do too much weightlifting but it should still be more beneficial to our running then it would be hurtful.

                My coach has started to add some cross fit workouts to the distance runners practice to try to make them stronger but I think that my team would still benefit more by adding weightlifting and to make sure we are weightlifting more consistently and on a daily basis. It can be important to make sure you have strong legs and arms for running because your legs and arms are what push you forward in a race. The stronger legs and arms you have the faster that you may be able to go but if you do too much weightlifting you could become really muscular and muscles can weigh a lot so it could weigh you down too much so it’s important to find the right amount of weightlifting needed to be able to run your fastest. (437)

Going to State

                Drake Relays came to an end this weekend and now state track is only a few weeks away. I really want to be able to go to state this year and so I really need to make sure that I am giving all my effort in the last few weeks in and outside of practice.  With the times that I am running right now I would probably not be able to make it to state except for maybe as an alternate but if I can drop a few seconds off of my four hundred meter time than maybe I would be able to run at state.

                If I want to improve my time so I can run at state I need to make sure that I am working hard. I need to make sure that I am going to practice every day and that I am running as fast as I can during practice and that I continue push myself and to try my best. I also might need to consider lifting some weights outside of practice so I can strengthen myself more in hopes that that will also help me to improve my four hundred times.

                Outside of practice I also need to make sure that I am trying to eat only mostly healthy foods. Eating really unhealthy foods and eating a lot of junk food could really slow me down when I am running and slow down my times. So I need to make sure that I am avoiding eating fast food and I need to avoid eating too much candy or sweets. Instead I need to make sure that I am eating a lot of fruits and vegetables and that I am getting enough protein and vitamins. By making sure to eat healthier food over unhealthy food I can make sure that I am in a better position to run the fastest times that I can.

                My freshman year I went to state as an alternate in the four by eight hundred meter relay and my sophomore year I went to state in the four but one hundred meter relay and in the distance medley relay.  I hope this year that I will not only be an alternate but that I will actually get to run at drake and to do so I need to make sure that I am trying my hardest, going to practice every day and that I am eating healthy food. (408)

Four Hundreds

                One of the most important events ran in a track meet is four hundred meters. A lot of the events in a track meet include running a four hundred. Each good track team has at least four or five good four hundred runners. This year my team has really been lacking in the number of good four hundred runners we have.
               Four hundred meter race is more of a mid-distance race. If you have good four hundred meter runners they also can normally run good times in a two hundred or eight hundred meter race so it can be really crucial for a team to have really good four hundred runners. If your team is lacking in 3000 runners or 1500 runners it is not as big as a deal because it is only one race in which you need them but a four hundred meter run is in about five different events so it can impact the results of a meet more.
              For girls high school track, having a good four hundred runner means that they can run times in low sixties if not under that. My track team really only has one runner who can run in low sixties and she can’t be in every event so our track team has really been hurting this year. We are able to score some points in field events and long distance events which can help our team in a meet but because we lack so much in four hundred meter runners it can really hurt our team’s performance. We haven’t been able to win a meet yet this year and last week we got last at one meet.
             A four hundred meter race is a middle distance race and is in many events which makes it really crucial to have good four hundred runners on a track team.  A track team can still score points elsewhere without any four hundred runners but if you want to do good in meets or win meets you need to have good four hundred runners. Hopefully my track team will be able to gain more four hundred runners next year so we can improve as a team. (363)

Limited Time

            My most busy time of the year is always during track season. I find my free time to continue to shrink during track season. There are so many meets to run in and it is also approaching the end of the school year so homework and studying also seems to be increasing with less time to complete it.  

            In cross country season I also have meets as I do in track season but not as many and they normally don’t last as long.  During cross country season there is only one thing you can run at a meet and it is two and a half miles. Running two and a half miles at a pretty fast pace can be very tiring and so during the season we normally only ever have one meet each week. In track I will normally have at least two meets a week and a lot of times one of them will be on a Saturday and in cross county there is normally very few Saturday meets.

            Cross county meets also take much less time than track meets do. In cross country there is normally only the junior varsity race and the varsity race and sometimes there is a freshman sophomore race so a total of three different races. In track meets there are so many events so track meets last much longer than cross country meets. Most track meets may last around five hours and when I have track meets on Saturday I am normally at the meet for seven hours and I don’t even have to be there early for a field event. Cross country meets normally only last about two or three hours so I can actually do some of my homework after a cross country meet whereas after a track meet I have hardly any time to do homework.

            During the spring and track season I also have to start to study and prepare for my AP tests. This year I have three AP tests that I have to study and prepare for and the tests are right around the time that we have state track so during the spring I am slammed with preparing for track and my AP tests.

            The spring is my busiest time of the year and I am normally always really stressed out. I have to start to study for my AP tests and I have so many track meets that always take up most if not all of my day. In the winter I don’t even have a sport so I have a lot of free time and in the spring I only have Cross County which has more spread out and shorter meets then track does. (451)

Drake Relays

            Each year the best Iowa high school athletes compete in the Drake Relays. Today is the last day to get in your times in order to qualify for Drake. This year we have some runners who are very close to qualifying for Drake but so far yet no one has fast enough times to qualify.

            Qualifying for Drake Relays is based on the athlete’s times. Drake will take only so many of the fastest runners and the fastest relays. In the three thousand meter run those with the fastest twenty-one times will qualify. In the four by one hundred they accept eighty and in the four hundred hurdles they only take eight so each event varies on the number of entrees.

            Last year we had a lot of people qualify for drake. The shuttle hurdle relay qualified as well as the four by eight, the four by one, the sprint medley, the open eight hundred and two three thousand runners as well as some runners in a few more events. But this year we have yet to have anybody with a guaranteed spot in the Drake Relays and tonight is the last chance for them to qualify. We have a few relays that are really close to qualifying and only need to drop about one second and there are also a few individual events that we have runners who are also very close to qualifying.

 My sister has a really good chance to qualify tonight. She qualified last year but has yet to qualify this year because she can’t really pace herself very well and in the meets we have had so far there hasn’t been a lot of competition and she was able to win easily. It has also been windy and cold which makes it more difficult to qualify. Tonight it may be a little cold but my sister will have a lot of competition to help push her. There are about eight girls that have run faster times than her this year at this meet who also are wanting to qualify and so if she is able to compete with them she may be able to run a fast enough time that will allow her to qualify. 

Drake relays is harder to qualify for than state because state is separated by the class, 4a or 3a etc. but for the Drake Relays it doesn’t matter what class your high school is, anyone form any school can compete. Hopefully we can have some runners qualify tonight for drake but if not we still have a better chance at qualifying in more events for state track. (437)

Rain

Being a cross country runner I am not afraid of the outside elements. Practice and meets are rarely cancelled except on extremely cold or extremely hot days. I have had to run with lots of wind, in more than one hundred degree weather and when there is so much humidity that it’s unbearable. I have also had to run in rain and thunder storms.

                When it is over one hundred degrees out and sweat is pouring down your face as you run you want and need it to rain to offer some sort of relief. During cross country practice this year it was really hot more so than usual and so when the sprinklers came on around are school we would run through them. While there are some days we really hope for rain there are also times when you don’t want to be running when it is raining and thunder storming.

                Running in the rain can be awful especially when it’s cold outside. Your clothes stick to you and you can hardly see anything as the rain drops into your eyes but as a cross country runner I am still forced to run in it. When it is pouring down rain in practice we still run outside anyways. One year we started out running on the trail when it was still only lightly raining but by the time we reached the two and a half mile mark it was pouring and started to thunder and lighting and we still had to run the two and a half miles home. Another time we were running on the track and in the middle of the track on the field they were about to start a junior varsity football game. While we were running it was raining and half way through our workout it started to thunder and lightning and the football game was cancelled but we still kept running until we finished our practice.

                Being a runner means I run in most weather conditions even when some sports don’t. I am forced to face the heat, humidity, rain and wind. It can suck to be forced to run in pouring rain but it can also be a unique experience to have. (370)

Mental Toughness

             Running may seem like a sport that is all dependent on your training and physical state but your mental toughness can also play a very important part in your running ability. It is still important to be in shape and to train for meets but if you aren’t mentally prepared it can affect your running. Most runners need to be strong mentally in order to perform their best. If you don’t believe that you can run ten miles or you don’t believe that you can run a certain time you normally can’t. If you get it in your head that you will never be able to run really fast or to drop a lot of time off your race you probably won’t be able to.

                Having a good mental set when I’m running is something that I really struggle with. This weekend at my track meet I had to run a four hundred and it was really hot out and really windy that I thought it would be impossible to run a personal record on my four hundred that when I was running I still tried hard to run my best but I didn’t push myself as much as I would have if I would have believed that I could run faster.  If I can tell myself that I can break my record and I am capable of running whatever time I want I would probably be a much better runner. While I do try to tell myself that I can run faster there’s a part of me that still kind of doubts my ability and holds me back from possibly meeting my full potential.

                My sister is now a very good cross country runner but her freshman year of cross country she wasn’t nearly as good as she is now. After my sisters freshman year I think she gained a lot of mental strength and helped to improve so much in her times. After her freshman year my sister decided that she wanted to be a really good runner so she pushed herself and trained hard over the summer. She also believed in herself and her capability to be a good runner. When she started running sophomore year she dropped more than four minutes off of her freshman year times

                Running may seem like a sport in which you improve your times by training a lot and getting in shape but a lot of it also comes down to your mental strength and if you are able to push yourself and believe in yourself. If I could build my mental strength it may help me to be a better runner.  (441)

Summer Running

            The summer is a great time for me to put in hours running. During the school year I find it difficult to find time for running in the winter when I am not in track or cross country season because of all the homework I have to do but in the summer I have plenty of time to run.

            School can be very stressful and I always have a lot of homework or studying I need to do for school but in the summer I don’t have to worry about any school work. I can focus more on running during the summer. I normally do some babysitting during the summer and I might get a job this year but I will still have plenty of spare time that I can use to run and train for my cross country season.

            I also enjoy running in the summer because I can actually run in the morning. It can be nice to run right when you wake up and get it out of the way so you don’t have to worry about running later in the day. During the school year I normally don’t want to get up at five in the morning to run because then I will lose a lot of sleep and probably be tired all day so I am forced to run in the afternoon after school and after a long day at school I normally just want to stay at home and relax and not have to worry about running. I can also run with some of my teammates on the trail by Kennedy during the summer where in the winter it is normally too cold to run outside so I have to run inside by myself.

            One down side of running in the summer is that it can get really hot. Running eight miles in one hundred degree weather is definitely not fun. If I wake up early enough in the day I can normally avoid some of the heat but on some days it doesn’t matter how early you wake up it is still really hot outside.

I am looking forward to running in the summer. In the summer I have more time to run without having any schoolwork and can run with my teammates on the trail. I also enjoy being able to run in the morning so I am able to free up the rest of my day. (405)

Track Meet

Saturday was my first outdoor track meet of the season. It is exciting to finally have this seasons meets begin. My track team still has a lot of areas that we need to improve on but having our first meet helps us to get a better idea of some of the things we need to work on and allows us to get some times on all of the runners to get a better judgment of what events everyone should be running in.

One thing that my team really needs to work on is handoffs for relays. In most of the relays that my team ran yesterday, the handoffs were slowing us down.  If we can perfect our handoffs we might be able to drop a few seconds from each of our relay times. It will also be easier to improve our handoffs if our relays were more set in stone. It is still very early in the season so some of the people in the relays may be changed but once they stay fairly consistent it will be easier to improve hand offs because then the people running will normally be handing off to the same person.

I ran three four hundred meters yesterday. My time was pretty consistent in all three of them. I still have a lot of work to do and a lot of time to drop off of my four hundreds if I want to be able to run at state. My team has another track meet on Tuesday and hopefully I can improve my times more if the meet isn’t cancelled because of bad weather. On Saturday the weather for our track meet was pretty good for our first meet. I was expecting it to be colder and windier than it actually was. At the meet there was actually little wind and it was really sunny, my face even got sunburnt.

I am very excited to finally be able to start running track meets this season. Hopefully I can improve my times and my handoffs as well as my track team. There is only a little over a month before track state and hopefully my team can improve a lot before then. (367)

Need for Motivation

             I enjoy coming to school at eight every day during the summer in order to run with my teammates. It is always had for me to find my own motivation and without others to run with I would probably hardly ever run. My sisters also help motivate me to run by pushing me to do my best and to challenge myself.        

While I really do enjoy running I still need the motivation to get me to actually run. The hardest part of running is actually starting to run. When I am actually in the middle of a run I am normally enjoying myself unless the practice is really difficult that day. I also always really enjoy finishing my run. After I have just had a challenging practice or a long run I always feel really accomplished and just feel better because of the great workout that I had and all the calories I burn. While I enjoy actually running and how I feel after I run, I am really lazy and find it hard to actually get up and get ready to go outside and run.

Running can still be really hard and you get really sweaty and stinky after a workout and I don’t always look forward to those parts of running. Before I start my run I always think of all the other things that I could be doing and all the foods I could be eating instead of running that I have to force myself to get up and run so it can help to have other people who motivate you to run.

 My older sister loves running and is very dedicated to running. She is much more dedicated to running than I am and tries to run every day while I don’t mind skipping a few days here and there. Without my sister I would hardly run at all during the summer or off seasons but she always drags me out of the house to run with her. My teammates also motivate me to run because I don’t like running by myself and it can be easier and more enjoyable to run in a group.

For the most part I enjoy running but sometimes I can find it difficult to actually force myself to go on a run. Once I actually start running I end up loving it but I can’t always find the motivation to get up, put on my shoes and go outside to run.  My sisters and teammates help motivate me to run and help push me to be the best runner that I can be. (433) 

Morning Running

             Running is very beneficial form of exercise and can help you jump start your day. In the summer I always try to run in the morning. When I run in the morning I normally feel more accomplished during the day and I don’t have to worry about running the rest of the day.
 

During the summer one thing I have to worry about is that the temperature is always increasing during the day and can be very unbearable to run in so if I run in the morning I can avoid some of the heat by running when it is still a little cool out. If I wait until later on in the day I also tend to find that I have less motivation later on then I did earlier in the day. If I run later on in the day I normally have already showered and don’t want to shower again or I want to go hang out with my friends instead of running so it seems to be easier for me to get my run done in the morning because I normally have more motivation to run.
 

I am normally more likely to run if I run in the morning then if I plan on running later in the day. I normally set my alarm and force myself to get up and run. I can also go and run at school at eight in the morning and then I can run with my teammates so I don’t have to run by myself. If I don’t set my alarm and wake up early I will normally sit around when I wake up for a few hours and am lazy for the rest of the day and when I do decide that I should run it is normally to hot so I normally have to wait until after I eat super when the temperature is starting to drop a little and it is normally not fun to try running a few miles on a full stomach.
 

I try to run every day during the summer but I normally skip a few days especially when I don’t run right away in the morning when I wake up. It is easier to run in the morning when it is still isn’t too hot outside and I still have some motivation left to run. When I don’t run in the morning I find it hard to find a time when I will run later in the day. (414)