Today was the day all the runners had been waiting for. The 800 meter time trial. The sprinters and jumpers had to psych themselves up to run it while the mid-distance and distance crews were happy they weren't running 10 miles today. The time trial was suppose to start at 3:30 after a good warmup but due to heavy rain and lightning there was a slight delay. The team warmed up by running through the hallways then doing some drills in a gym. This burned enough time for the lightning to stop. We headed out into the rain, a little later than planned but everybody was glad we did not postpone it until Monday. The first group that went were the women sprinters and jumpers. Although a few struggled the last 200 meters everyone did a great job. After that Coach Blocker, the head coach, decided that the men sprinters and jumpers, as well as, the men and women mid-distance and distance would all run together. It stared a little congested but after 150 meters everyone was pretty spread out. Again everyone ran hard and even those who went out like it was the Olympics in the first 100 meters didn't die too bad at the end.
Although the track was wet for everyone, the rain ended up stopping just as the first group of girls started and the cooler weather was enjoyed by everyone. After the run, it was good to see people smiling while they gasped for air, knowing they had accomplished something. Once everyone could talk again, there was some friendly trash talk that was funny to listen to since the ones talking will never run a competitive 800. Overall it ended up being a perfect day to run despite the weather. It was good for the athletes to have small competition and even have something to be nervous about for a week. Knowing they have accomplished something out of most of their comfort zones will make the difficult workouts much easier to get through. Although the first indoor meet is not until December, the team seems ready to work hard now.
It sounds like a good day at practice. Good luck with the season.
ReplyDeleteDo you think being able to warm up indoors vs. outdoors has an affect on how your athletes perform? If there is an indoor track at your school I don't think that it would but running in the hallways seems different. I can remember running in the hallways for track and seeing girls duck into the bathroom for a few laps (and no it was not me haha).
ReplyDeleteI think they could get more excited and focused when they warmup outdoors instead of the hallways. We do not have an indoor track, instead a basketball gym with a track surface on it. At times we have to make sure everyone puts forth a good effort during the warmup but when there is a time trial everyone knows they need to warmup properly or they will not perform well.
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