Life of a College Runner: Teamwork

Morgan Barnard
Sep 2, 2018 · 7 min read

Hey everyone! This is the week of our first meet of the season! I hope you enjoy this entry.

Monday

We started the week — and the new school year — off with a hard hill workout on Abbe Hills. On our way out for the warm-up, we saw lightning and turned around. It turned out that the lightning was far enough away, so we set out again. Our day was just half a mile longer than it was supposed to be. After our 2 mile warm-up, we did some strides and then began the workout. The hill was about 300 meters long, and my group had 10 reps to do. It was really tough if I’m being honest. I am not the speediest person, nor do I have many hills around where I live. Overall it was a good workout; I think it helped a lot.

We tried to keep our times pretty consistent for the duration of the workout. My splits were 66, 67, 65, 68, 65, 64, 69, 70, 70, 72. At the end, my throat got clogged and I couldn’t breathe and I almost threw up afterwards, but it was okay. I had a hard time staying with the group for the last three. The cool-down felt awful.

At breakfast, I felt faint and had to have some juice right away. I had forgotten to take my iron the past few days. I suppose that must have been it. A few of my friends yelled at me and have been hounding me about it ever since.

In the afternoon, I still felt a little woozy for the 3-mile easy run. My chest even started to hurt at the end, but I don’t know why. I think part of it was dehydration. Austin was feeling it, too. Also, our last mile picked up to 7:30, so maybe that was part of it. I just felt really tired and I almost fell asleep between the double and lifting.

Tuesday

We did a steady run out on Gillette. It was way different from usual, however. We ran a 1.5 mile warm-up out there, and then we went steady out and back to the highway. The steady segment was about 2.6 miles. My group was supposed to go around 7:15 pace, 18:51 for the whole thing. The groups who got the closest to their times got a prize afterward from Coach’s storage trunk. It felt super easy on the way out, like I could go that pace for ages. The way back felt a little harder because there was more uphill, but we maintained pace. We were actually under for the first mile, at about 7:08 pace, but our second one was right on. We ran about 18:50 for the total! I had to do an extra mile for the cool-down, bringing my day up to 6.5-ish miles. We did hurdle step-overs after.

Wednesday

We were supposed to run out on Willow Creek for our easy run, but there was so much traffic on the highway that we had to turn around and do town loop. After that, we had to add on a mile to make it 6. We did core afterward. Our time was 48:16, 8:03 per mile.

This afternoon’s double was the best run I’ve had in a long while. It was so much fun!! The guys and I were talking and joking the entire time. I laughed so much my sides hurt. We were a little slower, but it felt so great. Our time was 23:51, 7:58 per mile.

Thursday

Since tomorrow is race day, we were supposed to take it easy this morning. But we did something really weird to do so. Due to injuries and class trips, we will only have 5 girls running tomorrow. Wow!!! Oh my gosh we are competing with the bare minimum and trying to beat Coe. I’m really nervous for it, especially with how poorly the time trial went last week. Anyway, we did about 1.25 miles on Scobey Road, then we ran on the track for the rest of it. Well, half on the track, half on the turf. Our total was 4 miles at 8:15 pace, 33:25 for the total time. Then we did two hill sprints and two strides on the track. And that’s it before tomorrow.

Our race strategy will be pretty much the same thing as the time trial except this time I’m determined to actually perform well. No mental fears! No excuses and no lack of confidence. These are the things that will truly help me this season, if only I can manage it. I’m going to be staying as close to Dom, Marissa, and Zoe as I can. We are going to fight like a team and stick together like a team.

Friday

We did great!!!!! I was really really nervous at the start, with all the butterflies in my stomach. There were six of us because Katie decided she could run, too. My boyfriend came to watch me run, as well as my parents, my sister, and our dog, Pippa. Coach talked to us about having confidence and not holding back. My stomach was in knots before the gun went off. During the first mile, I was able to stay with my group pretty well. After that, Dom pulled out ahead and I fell back, breaking apart our pack. Our first mile was 6:30. We were supposed to be 6:25, so hearing that made me lose faith. I felt like I was dying fast, but I struggled to hold on. The whole second mile was a struggle.

But then, at around the 2 mile, I saw Marissa and Zoe in front of me. Because we only had half a mile left, I thought I could catch up to them. I started speeding up right at the 2 mile mark. Suddenly, I felt a little better. My legs finally felt like they could move and I didn’t feel as exhausted. I seized the opportunity and started my kick, perhaps sooner than I should have, but oh well.

I took off around the corner and down the long stretch to the finish line. I saw all my friends and family screaming for me. There was a girl coming up right behind me and I pulled whatever I had left to surge across the finish line. I finished in 16:41, 7 seconds faster than last year. It wasn’t the big improvement I was looking for, but it was something. My family was so excited and they congratulated me and everything.

As I was going on my cool-down (which took forever), people kept telling me that I got in the top 15. I thought that was impossible because at least five people passed me in the last mile. But, lo and behold, I got 10th place!!!!!!! Oh my gosh I was so happy!!! I got a t-shirt and everything!!! Ever since my freshman year, I wanted to someday get a t-shirt from this race!! This t-shirt is the first thing I have ever won from a collegiate race. And now I’m hoping it won’t be the last, crazy as it sounds. I got to stand up there with all the other fast people. Dom got third, and Marissa, Zoe, and Lexi were right behind me. I am so proud of us!! We did end up staying mostly together and we pulled it off. Both the men’s and women’s teams beat Coe, giving us two points for the Bremner Cup already.

I was so so so happy. We did a phenomenal job tonight. And then the sky got dark and the clouds were tinged with golden from the sunset, and the dark sky contrasted with the bright green grass, and it was just beautiful. So we took this really cool picture!!

That’s me on the far right.

Saturday

So today wasn’t the best. We went for a long run at Sac and Fox trail in Cedar Rapids. It was rainy but when we ran it was so darn humid it was almost hard to breathe. I felt okay for the first five miles but after that I really started to slip. I had really bad stomach cramps and during the last few miles it was hard to breathe and I felt dizzy and lightheaded. Marissa said it’s probably my anemia, as it tends to hit in waves. I honestly don’t know. The feeling is still new to me. I decided to stop at 8 instead of going 10. I felt terrible about it, but I honestly don’t think I could have gone another mile, let alone two more. We did leg circuit and balance routine after that. My time was 66:08, 8:18 per mile. Hopefully with Sunday off, Monday will be better.

This was a great week overall, despite its disappointing ending. I’m so happy with how I performed at the meet. It was nice to redeem myself a bit after the time trial. Our next meet is in two weeks. I can’t wait!! Until then, I’ll be working my butt off trying to get faster and stronger.

Thanks for reading!

— Morgan

Morgan Barnard

Written by

College Runner, Reader, and Writer. Destined for great things, I think.

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