Farewell

The end of the school year is approaching fast; the track season has about three weeks left for me and the school year will be done in about five weeks. I am excited for summer and all that senior year has to offer me, but unfortunately, our time together is officially over :(. I walked into my Ap Lang class today and was greeted with some new; my class is no longer required to do blogging. Though I would like to say that I will continue to blog anyway, that is regretfully not the truth. I was, and frankly still am, very excited to hear the news that I am done with blogging. I am a very busy person and it was often a hassle to find the time to blog. However, as I sit here writing my final blog I am filled with the desire to reminisce on all of the good old Sundays where I stayed up until 11:00pm scrabbling to finish all of my blogs for the week (sorry Ms.A!). 

           My blogs were nothing special. Most were written in approximately 25 minutes with the goal being to finish in a timely manner and move on to my next homework task. Most of my blogs were essentially word vomits of my feelings and experiences with running and they were certainly not the most well-crafted pieces of literature in the world. I do admit that though I may not always have wanted to blog, I am glad that I did! It has been fun to have these little one-sided conversations with all of you (however small that "you" might be). I appreciate all of you who have read my blogs and hope that if you didn't gain any useful information or insight from my blog that you were at least semi-entertained!  

I wish all of you the best of luck in your running endeavors, no matter what level you are at, and hope that you can muster the inspiration and desire to improve yourself and reach whatever goals you have! Running can suck, but it is something that always seems to bring us back to it. Running seems to fill us with some sort of self-pride that makes all of the discomfort we feel worth it. So with the last click of the “publish” icon, I leave you with one final message: Work hard, run fast, and be the best and most joyous version of yourself that you can be! XOXO. –Ali

Nature

Running is a beautiful sport, both figuratively and literally. The fact that essentially the whole world is our track can be amazing. Everywhere is our playground (except for the ocean, highway, and railroads, but you know what I mean). The Earth is a spectacular place, and running gives you the time and mindset to appreciate the beauty that is the nature around you. Notice how the trees you pass everyday on the trail will change colors as the seasons change. Notice the little squirrels that scurry in front of you between the two cherry bushes. Notice the sun rising along the lake if you ever get the chance on an early morning run. Nature surrounds you as you run, which can provide a welcome break from the monotony of the white walls of the indoors.

Often times I struggle to notice these things as I run, I am more focused on the fact that I feel like I am slowly dying on the inside. I found though, that the more I focus on the things around me as I run, the more I become distracted from my inside feelings of discomfort. This allows me to settle into a more comfortable pace that is efficient and what some runners call the “sweet spot”- the spot where you feel comfortable running at a fairly speedy pace and can relax your breathing and begin to feel refreshed and peaceful. Concentrating on nature and regulating my breathing helps me to get to this place and reach the sweet spot, though of course this is no full-proof remedy.

I love that I get to participate in a sport that is not confined to the indoors or a certain court or field. Though I often complain about the elements impeding my racing success or frankly making me miserable, I enjoy experiencing the full spectrum of Iowa weather and learning to adapt to all the elements! So go out and enjoy all that nature and running has to offer! (I know, could I get any cheesier?)

Sports Bras

One particularly hot day during cross country practice my freshman year, I turned around from getting a drink of water to see that most of my teammates were taking their shirts off. I was wearing a black shirt, and my older sister told me that I should take it off or else I would get really hot. I remembered that in middle school we were not allowed to run in our sports bras, so I felt weird about stripping down and left my shirt on. (Now that I think about it, why was the administration sexualizing middle school girls in the first place?!) Boy was it hot with that black shirt on! I'm not saying that taking your shirt off makes a huge difference, but it does make you feel better seeing as the wind can reach your skin and your shirt is not soaking up all of your sweat and making you feel like you just got out of a pool. I didn't realize this at first though, and it took me about a week before I gave in and decided to give my sports bra a try; it was a refreshing decision.

The boys run with their shirts off all the time in the summer, and those summer Iowa days can be very hot and humid; running 10 miles is not fun even without the heat to contend with. It only seems fair to me now that girls should be allowed to run in their sports bras if the temperatures permit, because it can feel so much better and allow runners to put forth a higher level of effort than they otherwise may have been able to. 

Sports bras are not that scandalize, they cover girls up more than bikinis do. I am no longer embarrassed to wear a sports bra to run because I know that it will make me feel a lot stronger on my run than I would feel otherwise. I will admit that I do not run in my sports bra unless it is a certain temperature or humidity where I feel like I need to, and I don’t take my shirt off if I am running by myself (but that is an entirely different topic). That is just what I am comfortable with. To put this another way, if someone wants to use the typical “school code” justification to oppose girls running in their sports bras, the only thing that would be "distracting" to guys while I run is the fact that my face looks so contorted that I look like a dying cow. Girls should be able to do whatever will allow them to train the best each day so that they can become the best athletes they can be!

Pity Clap

According to Urban Dictionary, a pity clap "occurs when an athlete finishes well after most of the competitors in a race. Usually given to the last place swimmer in a 500 yard freestyle. The audience intends it to be a polite gesture, but for the rookie swimmers it is a sign of failure."

I feel that this is a pretty accurate description! The pity clap is well known as a sign of failure in the track community. The audience collectively feels the need to cheer on the last runner as they make their way to the finish line, but in reality it sucks to be pity clapped because you know that you were so far behind everyone else that the spectators all felt the need to cheer you on an help you finish the race. It is almost comical, because unless the first place finisher is breaking a record or performing an amazing feat of strength, the last place finisher almost always gets more or equal applause to the first place finisher if they are far enough behind. 

Rarely does anyone want to receive this applause, even if it does help them finish off their race, because it just serves as a reminder of how many people are watching them race around the track as the slowest competitor. Just last week for example, My team was competing against the top 5 teams in the state all in one meet; nearly every race seemed to be stacked with crazy good runners. For the 4x8 though, all of the normal varsity runners except for me were either injured or unable to come to the meet, which meant that we had a JV team going up against some of the best teams in the state all competing for a chance to better their times and gain a spot in the coveted Drake Relays. This was a rather daunting task, and I was the anchor. When I received the baton our team had already been lapped by the first two teams, and though I made up some ground, we still got dead last by at least 300 meters. I was pity clapped into the finish line, but I just laughed it off. We all did our best, and that is all we can hope for!

Getting pity clapped sucks, but it is not the end of the world, and it just shows that the spectators want you to do the best you can, no matter what place or ability level you are at. Any good athlete knows that they will be put into situations in which they are inferior to their competitors, and that is something that we all must come to terms with! Enjoy the meets where you get to run against runners who are better than you and use the opportunity to push yourself. The pity clap is not always a bad sign, treat it as applause for your effort and triumph in pushing yourself to do our personal best for that day.  

Sunburns

Sunburns are never any fun. They make your skin turn a ghastly red with white peeling all over and they hurt something terrible whenever you touch the skin or something rubs against the burn. However, there is something worse than a sunburn: having to run with one. 

Running is a very repetitive motion, and this can often lead to chafing.  According to dictionary.com, the definition of chafing is "to wear or abrade by rubbing". Thus when ones skin is repetitively subjected to friction, the skin becomes irritated and wears down, causing sores. Running provides a perfect platform for chafing to occur, like say between the bicep and the side of one's ribs or the rubbing together of one's thighs as they run. Chafing is common, but now imagine that you are sunburnt and running.

The places where your skin comes in to contact with itself or your clothing will be even more sensitive and irritated if you are sunburnt, which is why it is very important to remember to wear sunscreen. If you do get sunburnt, concentrate on drinking plenty of water and putting on a lot of lotion and aloe on so that your skin can heal faster. We have all been there before, and it is certainly no fun! 

Heat

Heat is my worst nightmare. If I wake up on a meet day to discover that it is anywhere around 80 degrees, I am not too happy. I know a lot of sprinters and spectators are delighted to hear of the nice weather, but I would prefer 40 degree weather to 85 degree weather any day that I have to compete. I think for distance kids this is usually the case, given that our bodies will warm up a lot more during our races because of their length. 

The heat seems to slightly suffocate me, and I feel substantially weaker on these warmer days. I am not sure why this is, but for me, the heat is a great inhibitor. Thus I decided to look up why this may be; I found this chart from http://runneracademy.com/running-in-hot-weather-impact-on-pace/ 

This chart is interesting to me because though I knew that the heat had an effect on my physical state and performance to an extent, I didn’t know that it was this dramatic. During the summer, I can go out and run my long runs at about an 8:15 pace for a 7 mile run or so. According to this chart, my teammates and I would actually be able to put in the same amount of effort in cooler weather and be going at a pace that is at least a minute or so faster. This doesn't seem to quite correlate to my experience though. On days with the perfect weather conditions, I certainly do not run a 7:15 pace for 7 miles, though I may run an 8:00 or 7:45 pace. I wonder if we as runners just learn how to adjust to the heat and fight through it because we feel if we are not close to the pace where we normally run, then we are not getting as good of a work out in and our failing. I feel as if this could be true to an extent

. The website above does include a reasoning behind why the heat inhibits performance, and it is all stuff that not only makes sense, but we have all probably heard before: "In hot weather, this translates to feeling fatigued early as your body is actively adjusting your pace when it starts to overheat or the threat of overheating presents itself. Your muscles are actually nowhere near their true point of fatigue, but you are given the sensation as if they are to slow your pace."

It certainly makes sense that we would not feel as strong and ready to run on 80 degree days - I know that I certainly feel that way. This is why it is so important that runners and athletes make sure to drink enough water and stay hydrated all year around, but especially in the summer so that we can counteract the effects of the humidity by providing more liquid to sweat out. Enjoy the warmer temperatures this summer, and stay healthy and hydrated!

Spectators

A very common question to be asked by friends and family after a race is, "Did you hear me cheering for you?!"

These people always seem to ask this question in such an excited manner in the hopes that they played a part in your success. However, the truth is that most of the time runners don't hear people from all the way up in the stands calling their name. There are so many people cheering for their different teams in the stands, and there is so much going on right in front the runners on the track, that one can’t pinpoint a specific person calling out their name. It is a different story when a team mate on the side lines is screaming your name and cheering for you because they are much closer and can get in your face, but when racing, we are usually deeply inside ourselves and too focused to hear friends and family.

That being said though, there is a reason why people perform better during a race than a time trial in practice. That reason is that in a race, runners have spectators that are there to watch the race along with the competition to test them. Cheering and spectators can make a big difference in amping up the atmosphere of the meet and getting the competitors adrenaline running. Most of the time however, it is not so easy to recall the individuals cheering for you. So next time your grandma comes over to you and asks if you heard her cheering for you, you have two options.

1)     You can tell her the truth; that you didn’t hear her but appreciate her being there to support you.

2)     Or you could tell her that her cheering helped you. I mean it is really not that far off when considering the people in the stands as a whole that elevated the stakes and motivation of the meet.

Either way, always be thankful for all of the teammates, friends, and family who have ever been there to support you!

Meet Cancellations

In the Midwest, spring is generally a time of year that experiences really bipolar weather patterns. One day it will be 70 degrees and sunny, and the next it will be 30 degrees with 20mph wind gusts. The weather is extremely unpredictable throughout April and May, and because of this, meets are often cancelled. 

When meets are cancelled, I have found that the first response of most high schoolers is to be pretty excited. I don't know why this is, or if it is just that my team is less committed and competitive than most others out there, but generally no one is too upset about a meet being cancelled or postponed. Meets are nerve raking, and let’s face it, pushing your body to the limit of its competitive and physical boundaries- aka racing- is no fun. That is why it can be a relief to find out that you don't have to race that evening, especially is it is one of the wonderful 30 degree days. 

On the flip side, when you have to miss three meets in a row due to weather related cancellations, which happened to my team over that last week and a half, one tends to get a little frustrated. Even though racing is no fun, in the end we stay in the sport for a reason. The desire to be better than you were before and compete is what drives runners, and I suppose all athletes in general. Athletes want the opportunity to see if they are progressing in their training and to figure out what competitive and physical level they are at, which is the opportunity that track meets and games give us.

Because of these reasons, when one finds out that a meet is cancelled, it can generate a lot of mixed feelings. In the end though, we normally just decide to be ok with the fact that the meet is cancelled because there is nothing that any of us can do about it! Besides, who really wants to race around the track in the freezing Iowa spring air anyway; if the meet is cancelled, there is most likely a good reason!

Dance Marathon

 *Warning: the post you are about to read has nothing to do with running.* However, I just wanted to share with you guys about my experience at my schools Dance Marathon. Kennedy High School’s Dance Marathon is modeled after the University of Iowa’s version. The University of Iowa hosts a Dance Marathon each year to raise funds for cancer research. It lasts all day (like literally 24 hours) and is usually very successful. At my high school, we do a mini version, or I guess you could call it a Dance Sprint (hahaha), that lasts for three hours and is organized by our key club, which I am a part of. All proceeds made at Kennedy’s Marathon are donated to the Iowa University Dance Marathon's collection of money raised. 

The reason I am writing about this today is because it was a really great experience to dance around to some great songs with all of my friends. I mean the Dance was basically a school dance, but without the pressure to look nice and the huge crowd of grinding teenagers. It also had a lot of glow sticks and lights, which is always a plus. The Dance Marathon was such a great thing to be a part of for one other reason too, and that is because it allowed me to be a part of something bigger than myself and to help those who may need it, even if in reality what I did had a very insubstantial impact in the grand scheme of things.

Those at the Marathon had the opportunity to listen to the parents of a Kennedy alumni speak about their experience as their child lived, and eventually died, from cancer as a junior at Kennedy. I was a freshman when he passed away, and I certainly heard from the upperclassmen about what an inspiration he was. Listening to his parents speak, I couldn’t help but feel that this young man used his disease to his advantage and made a difference in the world. This was when I realized that I needed to step up my game. There are so many amazing people in this world going through a tough time, and I wanted to make a greater effort to help them.

It can be very difficult to take the initiative to volunteer in one’s community. We are all busy people, and trust me as I am typing this I am certainly not sitting high on a pedestal of superiority. I definitely need to work on being more involved in my community that has given so much to me. The world is a huge place, and, as my mom always tells my sister and I, “The world does not revolve around us.” 

I am going to use my experience in helping with the Dance Marathon as a wake up call; a call that I can only hope I will answer in the long run. I hope that you too can possibly take this as a call to action as well. 

           The below quote speaks volumes about the mental aspects of running and racing. When racing, your body gets more than a little uncomfortable, so it tells you to stop doing what you are doing because you are hurting, but the truth is, your can take a lot more than you think. Your body is designed to register pain, but in the end if you just decide to call its bluff and listen to your heart (I know, cheesy right?), you can achieve a lot more than you ever thought by breaking this barrier. But then again, that voice is VERY compelling... :)

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&ved=0ahUKEwifrtGC3_jLAhWC74MKHVa0ClQQjRwIBw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinterest.com%2Fexplore%2Frunning-inspirational-quotes%2F&psig=AFQjCNEmiJJhGoJXTYcM5fbP_HzoK7N0GA&ust=1459988428404900

Peeing During a Race (it happens)

Picture this, you are fighting your way through the second lap of a 1500, your thighs are burning, your heart is pumping like crazy, and your lungs are working overtime as you struggle to maintain a consistent breathing pattern. Your body is exhausted, and as you are racing around the track with your teammates cheering you on and the crowd picking up noise, adrenaline triggered by the "fight or flight" response is coursing through you. During this response, your body actively shuts down or limits the functioning of organs and systems that are not vital to your goal at hand, aka the fighting or the "flighting". This means that your metabolism slows down and your endocrine system stops secreting nonessential glands for the time being. This response may also mean, in some cases, that your bladder and kidneys are not able to function as securely as before being put under the stress your body is now enduring.....and I think we all can guess what happens then - you pee your pants.

You have another lap and a half left of your race and are now slightly self-conscience that everyone in the stands is laughing at you and your insufficient bladder abilities, which of course is not accurate seeing as probably a total of three people even noticed the wet stain forming between your legs. Though you might feel embarrassed about peeing your pants, this is a much more common occurrence than those not accustom to meets might expect. For instance, I will always remember when my friend came to watch her first cross country meet. As soon as I finished my race and gulped down some water she came over to me and exclaimed, “I saw four people pee their pants!” I just laughed and continued drinking my water and recovering.

I learned all of the mechanisms behind the fight and flight response in Ap Biology my sophomore year, but at that point I had never experienced peeing my pants, and I still haven't, but I have certainly witnessed it many times. Peeing during a meet, though uncomfortable and embarrassing, is really not something to be ashamed of. In fact it can be seen as a badge of honor because you know that you gave it your all out on the track and pushed your body to the extreme.

Like I mentioned before, I myself have never peed my pants in a race, but I feel like the main reason behind that is the fact that I am a nervous pee-er who goes to the bathroom no less than six times while at a meet before my race. Therefore I have very little left in me to actually pee out if duty calls during a run. Many of my friends also have this affliction, but nature does show itself every once in a while none the less.

In these instances where one does pee their pants, you can only hope that dark pants are being worn. For track, my team wears black spandex. When someone comes over and complains that they peed their pants, I have never ones noticed it while they were running! No one, I hope, is specifically looking for people who have peed, so hardly anyone notices in these instances. Cross country however, is a different story for my team because we wear sickly lime green shorts that become much darker very easily in the presence of liquid. But like I said, peeing your pants at a meet is nothing to be worried about, and most everyone has seen it before and knows that it happens to the best of us, so just brush it off, be excited about your race, and march proudly to the bathroom.