Notes
Dan Huston! Got out well with the pack and started more conservatively due to the heat. I felt super strong and controlled and could tell that a lot of those girls up there would probably not be able to hang later on in the race because they were breathin real heavy. Our pack started falling apart sort of early on, but Lexi and I made a move together going up Chud and that's when it really got strung out. Still felt strong and confident after the move, and Lexi and I communicated really well with each other. We held Caroline off for the 1-2 punch!
Individually, I am pretty happy with how it went but still a little frustrated. Maybe it was dumb, but I went into this race telling myself "You could win this", which is something I've never really told myself before. Some of it is definitely out of spite because I know that other people don't consider me as a potential top girl. And really, I cannot blame them- I have yet to show people that I can kick someone down. I was reminding myself before and during the race "You have a kick! It's there!! Just use it!". During visualization the night before, I even visualized myself having a badass sprint to the finish, winning, hugging my grandpa at the end haha. Unfortunately, it did not look like that. It was just me struggling to get to the line haha. It was still super fun to race with Lexi though and she deserves it, she works her tail off. And I definitely would not have been able to hold off Caroline a year ago (even a few months ago), so I know I'm getting closer. It just would've been so cool to win a race for once, I've never done that. And believe me, I am beyond grateful for everything I have done but at the same time, I can't help but think, no one remembers the person who ALMOST won the race. They only remember the person who actually did win it.
Anyway, even though it may not seem like it, I am much less concerned with my individual race. I AM however, much more concerned about the team race. Our pack blew up far too early. We are already fighting against some odds with the 4-5 gap, so there's just no way we will win if that happens to our front pack. And that's not being pessimistic- it's realistic. Obviously we can't just stress out about it, but we also can't not do anything about it. I think once Ellie and Aubrie get their iron up that will help, but I'm going to do my best to try and help them keep their confidence because I think that is starting to diminish too. And low confidence is worse than low iron. We just need to stay calm and positive about it because I think Auggie will be better! It'll be less hot and it's flat, which aubrie and ellie thrive on. We absolutely need to take advantage of getting to run with Chicago. We just need to remember to run for each other. During this race, I tried to encourage Aubrie and Ellie to come with us when moves were made. I know they will at Auggie, and as long as they hold on, they can both finish like no other. Honestly, I think we just need more positivity and excitement about running.