10/29/09

Thursday Workout- Mile, Mile, 600, 600

The cold weather is here. Yesterday’s workout was a tough one, and the cold weather made it that much tougher. As we lined up on the bridge at Vandenbusche’s loop, Coach Jen told us to focus, go out hard and run with intensity. I stood there staring down at my purple running tights wondering how she expected us to focus. Jen yelled hup for us to start and I pressed the start button on my watch as we took our first step off the bridge. We were suppose to be running hard. We were supposed to be focusing and getting ready for regional’s, but still the only thing taking over my mind was Lisa. As we made our way through the first 800 of the first mile I thought about everything Coach Jen had been telling us this past week. Stay busy, stay focused, get back into your routine. Lisa would want you to do your absolute best. Rounding the 800 mark I thought about Lisa, and how she ran, how she lived life. “It’s only 800” I told myself, “only 800 left.” I snapped back to what I was doing, and realized that Sarah, Hillory and I were not even breathing hard. We can go harder I told myself, and put in a surge that was immediately followed by a surge from Sarah and Hillory was right there next to both of us, keeping us under control but pushing it at the same time. Pretty soon Grace was right there with us as well, and we were making our way through the final stretch to the bridge. Lisa would never give up, I thought. She gave everything she had to every interval she did. We crossed the bridge just as Jen yelled out 5:44. Perfection.

The rest of the workout was kind of a blur. I felt like I was watching myself run, but I wasn’t actually doing the workout. I felt out of it. My mind kept on wandering to memories of Lisa, and my emotions were bouncing around. I felt mad that she wasn’t there, yelling at me to move my butt, and sad that I couldn’t tell her how the workout went, or ask her how she felt about hers. I felt frustrated that I couldn’t change the situation. It is out of our control. All of a sudden I was rounding the final turn of the last 600 and I realized I needed to focus. I felt myself getting up on my toes without even thinking about it. My knees started driving and I was moving faster. I wasn’t even telling myself to do it. I crossed the bridge and came to a walk, thinking about the workout I had just run without even thinking about it. I thought about all the things Lisa taught me that were now engraved in my mind. I didn’t even know it. We jogged our cool down talking about Halloween festivities, but my mind was still on something else. I want my friend back. I want us to all laugh about random stuff again. I want the younger girls to experience the hilariousness and sometimes terrifying honesty that Lisa offered every day. I looked around and saw the new girls: Sophie, Cassie, Angela, Cora, and thought about the girls in the pool. It is a new era I told myself. New girls ready for new memories and stories to share with the new girls next year. A new team ready for a new beginning, all the while with our great leader in our minds. Another great workout down, and in the freezing cold no less! The region better watch out., we are commin for them, and we have a secret weapon: when we line up at regional’s we will be running with 8. No one else has a LT! GO WSC!