Notes
What a day!
I was beyond stoked for the comeback of the Sinister Six! Big packs are AWESOME!!!
As excited as I was for the race, I was a bit nervous too. My track record of performing well in the cold is kind of a big fat goose egg. And last race was AMAZING (yes, I’m still thinking about my kick butt race with the kick butt gal, Janelle). And while amazing races are great, they are scary because they are hard to top.
So out the 6 of us went! We had a respectable gap between us and what I have classified as the “Trio of Terror” (aka Carina, Aubrie, and Kassie). After we went through the 1st mile, I heard the time 6:18 (or something around there I think?) I panicked a little. That wasn’t even that fast, so idk why. It's not like we went out in 6:00 like at Coe, but it also wasn’t like the 6:33 that we went out in last time. I had to remind myself that it’s okay to go out a little faster (especially because it wasn’t hot) and that I needed to trust my pack. I ditched my sock gloves (and my mask fell out somewhere in this mile, AGAIN), and we got to work.
I began to struggle a little around 1.5. We hadn't really picked up the pace significantly, so I don’t really know why, but I think I was just unsure of what was to come next. Almost every 7 seconds, someone in the crowd was yelling “SOMEBODY MAKE A MOVE”. I kept thinking “Who’s going to do it? Who will make that move?”. It certainly wouldn’t be me. I feel like all of us were kind of in the same boat though and thinking “Let’s stay focused yet relaxed until 3k in”. Must be that pack telepathy or something.
We rounded the corner and stormed up Chud hill. Coach was like “This is the longest you guys have been packed up together, yeah! Lets do something special” or something like that while excitedly clapping his hands. I smiled. Look at us! A strong, cohesive, unit! It was amazing!
3k in wasn’t too much of a difference honestly, but 4k in DEFINITELY was. Natalie and Janelle made a HUGE move. This was earlier than I usually would’ve gone, but I also know I cant always just wait until there’s 1k left. I knew we had to go with them, we made it this far together, I couldn’t let them go. Lexi was running alongside me, and I said “We gotta go with them Lexi!”. I literally felt my body switch gears and pick up the pace significantly. Our pack started to string out a bit, but never more than a few steps apart. Lexi and I caught back up to them around 4.5k and I felt stronger than I did earlier in the race!
Once we hit the 5k mark, I knew it was time to lay it all out on the line. Natalie and I took off and pushed each other through. She has AMAZING turnover and power in the last 1k, so it was definitely hard to keep up, but she never let me fall behind. She kept encouraging me and saying “C’mon Shae, you can do it!” I love that girl so much. She kept me going in those long straightaways.
Finally, we rounded the last corner. I heard pounding footsteps and was worried that some rando BV or Loras girl had made their way back up to us. But no, it was LEXI! Dayum, does that girl have a kick?! She flew past Nat and I like it was nothing! I’m surprised the powerful wind from her didn’t knock me over!
I saw the clock. 22:48. WHAT THE?! Not gonna lie, I had sort of forgotten about my goal of getting Sub 23. Honesty hour: I really didn’t think I would be in contention for it. Natalie and I didn’t say anything but we were thinking the same thing; We knew we had to FRICKIN GO if we wanted a shot at running under. It was the extra motivation I needed to use everything I had left. We crossed the line, still completely unsure if we had done it or not. We saw 22:59, but usually the time you see and the time you run end up being very different.
A kick ass race it was, but I was still feeling fairly apprehensive afterwards. Yes, our pack stuck together magnificently. Yes, I ran a PR. Yes, I responded to the moves that were made. Everything about the race was great! And I know times arent the most important thing in the world. But I knew, I just KNEW I would be kicking myself if I didn’t get that sub 23.
Thankfully, I DID get it. YES! Natalie and I couldn’t have been happier! Everyone who was at camp celebrated for us and hugged us. What a barrier to be broken down?! I love this team.
As awesome as that was, one thing I learned from this race is that there’s always more to give, and I have a distorted perception of how much energy I really have left. Every time after a race, I say I gave it my all, but did I? I thought I was giving it my all towards the end of the race today, but what was that extra burst of energy when I was concerned about my time? The more I think about it, the more I realize that its sort of sad that I needed to see the clock in order for me to use more of my kick. I should always be using that and giving more, regardless of what I see on the clock or who’s in front of me. The time on the clock or the people in front of me shouldn’t be the incentive; doing it for the TEAM is the incentive.
However, it was still an outstanding day. I’m beyond proud of my pack. The amount of effort and hard work they put in is INSANE. Almost all of us ran PR’s and we ran most of the race by ourselves (in our pack but like no one else around lol). The fact that we all kept pushing each other, even with no one to really chase, really amazed me. Great job today pack <3
The Sinister Six will be back in action at Conference (hopefully Sinister Seven with Trinity though) and we will be ready to take down the field, TOGETHER!