Aisling Cuffe's MileSplit.us Journal #7
Hello everyone! This will probably be my shortest journal to date, because I only have to cover a few days. Due to my long winded nature however, I will probably find a way to make many words about 3 days. They have been very eventful, and a lot of fun. So here I go!
On Friday evening, my parents, my sister and I drove down from my house to a hotel near Sunken Meadows. People may think this is a little weird, seeing as I only live 2 hours away from Sunken Meadows to begin with. With the race being at 11am, I would have to start warming up at around 10am. In order to be ready to warm up, I need to be checked in, I need to have time to scope around for any sales/t shirt tents, and I need to know where my make shift headquarters are at the park. So I really need to be there by 9:30am at the latest, maybe 9:20am. Now throw in the 2 hour drive and that’s 7:20am. Now account for the fact that we would have to drive through the city, the place to be for delays, accidents, halted traffic, and detours. So that time of departure really has to be 6:30am, about. Which, to the average Joe, could still be done. But I’d rather not. I’d rather be in a nice, comfy hotel; wake up at around 7am to eat breakfast, and mosey back up to my room and relax until 9am. Not to mention the ability to check in the night before. And then add in the fact that I absolutely love staying in hotels, especially the night before an important meet (I feel that hotels put me in the zone). With all put into consideration, the hotel is the best pick for me.
Anyway, my family drove down, we had dinner in the hotel, and we checked in for the meet. I met the Zodda family for the third year in a row, which always is a lot of fun. Phil Zodda is the North East meet coordinator, and he and his family plus a few others form the Northeast “family” out at San Diego. They made my first trip out to San Diego the best trip of my life, and their presence always reminds me of how much fun the Foot Locker experience is. A family really is the best word to describe the situation. The Zoddas make all the Northeast kids feel welcome, and they are always available to help out. This is one thing that I am really looking forward to!
Saturday morning came, and it was time to warm up before the big race. Sunken Meadows this time of year is plagued with cold temperatures and wind! While the temperatures were not as bad as the Midwest regional (kudos to everyone in that race that somehow managed to run without numerous clothing layers!), they were still very cold to me. The low 40s wouldn’t have been bad by itself, but throw in the wind, and you have a real feel temperature of 30. Not fun. Have I mentioned that I am really looking forward to going to Stanford?
The race was very exciting! I was trying out a different strategy than I normally use, in hopes of learning everything I can race-wise leading up to San Diego. I made myself stay with the lead pack. The race was very bunched up in the beginning. The lead pack spread out a little by the mile mark, and spread out even more after Snake Hill. I stayed behind Megan Venables until we came back into the picnic area again, and then I started to pull away. Cardiac Hill was tough like always, but I managed to keep moving consistently, and finish the rest of the race feeling strong, fast, and almost giddy with excitement that I was going to qualify for San Diego again. After I finished, I was brought to the tent where we give our information and uniform/shoe sizes. I was so happy to see all of the rest of the nine girls file in as they finished. Everyone who comes to the seeded race really wants a shot at making it to San Diego. You can tell that every girl who filed into the tent had their eyes on San Diego from the beginning of the year, and worked extremely hard to make it. This probably sounds really corny, but you can really see all of their dreams come true in their expressions as they enter the tent. This is one of my favorite parts of the Regional experience. We talk about what sizes we are ordering, and what to put down for certain questions, and all of the returners talk about how great their past experiences have been at San Diego. It is almost like the start of the Northeast 2010 team forms in that little white tent. I can’t wait to see all the girls again in 2 weeks, not to mention every other qualifier from all the regions!
The day after a big race is always a bit anti-climatic. I took the day off from running. I read Hamlet and took some notes. I also had to go dress shopping for the Saturday night banquet at Foot Locker. That went okay. I really only go dress shopping once a year (for Foot Locker), seeing as I usually miss Homecomings and Proms and what not due to races (but trust me, I’d much rather be racing!). It was mentally and physically draining, but I eventually found a dress that was not too fancy, but not too “I could wear this to school” looking. I will save the shoe shopping for another outing.
Well, surprise surprise, I managed to write a lot about 3 days. Good Luck to everyone moving on for another week or two for their respective national meets. Keep focused, and keep motivated, because even though you are probably the only one in your school (except the Fluehrs :-) ) still running cross country 2 weeks before Christmas (27 days to go, but hey, who’s counting?), just know that San Diego is completely worth it!
The famous Foot Locker guy strikes again!
Me and Megan Venables heading up the picnic hill area, with the rest of the qualifiers in tow.
Caroline Kellner, Katie Kellner, me, and Emily Lipari chillin right after the race. Katie and Emily both qualified with me back in 2008, and both Caroline and I qualified this year. It was fun to have the “old guys”(just kidding!!!) back for a chat (even if one of the old guys constantly beat on me for the past 2 years… I’ll get her next year :).
