.jpg)
Photo Byron Horter
Thoughts on Lakota East Fall Classic
8/27/16
The morning felt pretty nice and there was a cool breeze in the air. Everyone was supposed to report to VOA and be at camp at 7 am sharp. The team seemed ready despite a hard week of practice, which seemed promising. The varsity guys began to warm up a mile and a half, then came back for stretching and drills. We completed our last set of strides, did our team prayer, and then we were on the line ready to run. The gun went off and I darted out to the front of the pack from the start and didn't look back from there. My goal was to get a fast start and push myself the last two miles as hard as I could, given the conditions. At mile one, I hit a 4:43 and was already alone at this point. I coasted through the second mile and felt like I was going pretty fast, until I heard my split of 9:59. At this point, I just told myself to push this last mile harder than the one before and crossed the line in a 15:53. I wasn't extremely flattered with the time, although that is a work in progress, but the place was a step in the right direction. I tried to wait at the line for as long as I could to shake hands with as many runners as possible, as well as give people cups of water. There we a lot of runners that were really feeling the effects of the hot and humid conditions. I think our parents and volunteers did a great job of being on top of things given the heat and humidity of the day, as well as the short notice of our meet tripling in participants after the "Moeller Under the Lights" race was cancelled due to course conditions. All in all, it wasn't a bad day for East.
Photo Byron Horter
My special moment this week actually came from the preparation for the meet this week when I came to a realization after the race at the OHSAA Preseason meet. I was a little frustrated after that meet, as far as running goes, but a ton of support from my teammates, friends, and family helped me realize that I needed to trust God's timing. I think that's important for every runner to know. A lot of runners get frustrated about not PR'ing every race or not running to their standard (myself included), but it's all about letting God control what path He's going to lead you down week to week. It's important to keep the mindset that your time will come and God's got a plan for you, on and off the course.
I would also like to ask the cross country community to pray for our teammate Abby Whayne who is recovering from surgery last week. As a sign of support for Abby we all wore ribbons tied to our shoes this week so she knows we are all thinking about her and praying for a speedy recovery.
