“IT’S HOT BOB!” seems to be the phrase of the week. No, I’m not talking about the local car dealer I’m talking about this weather, It sure was one brutal week with the extreme heat., but the Bulldogs managed to make the best of it and tough it out. As runners in Central Illinois we have to be prepared for almost anything and everything. Keeping cool was important, whether it was changing our path for our workout to a shady spot, or my personal favorite of putting ice in our sports bras. However staying hydrated was the most important safeguard to battle through this last week. It also helped keep positive attitudes and determined minds.
On Wednesday, we got a special treat with water balloons as part of our Playground Olympics game day which was quite enjoyable, I don’t believe I have ever seen Coach Vohland run so fast in his life when we chased him with water balloons. Let’s just say he wasn’t fast enough! It’s the little things like a simple game day or even a water balloon that can really just lift everyone’s spirits and help our team bond and really become more of a family! This bond is what helps us get through the impossible. No matter the conditions or the weather our team is in this together.
“We arrive as a team, we run as a team, we leave as a team." That is our motto and I believe we showed that at Saturdays Metro-East Lutheran Debut Meet, held on the SIUE course. One of the hardest meets all year is already conquered and gone. Coach always says,”Go out there, run your race, go for your goal time’’, all the same stuff other coaches say. However, the one thing that really sticks in my mind is when he says, “Go out there and just for a moment take it all in because one day, this is all going to be just a memory, just another race”. That is my focus this year, to take each race one at a time and make each race count.
My season started by placing third with a time of 19:49. This wasn’t exactly the time I was shooting for, but due to the extreme weather conditions and the college level course, I was happy with the end results. I ended up running 20 seconds faster than my time last year on this course.
At the end of the day St. T. took home the win. Our team stepped up to the plate and had quite the race. Emma Reedy (Jr.) and Kelsey Cleary (Soph) both had outstanding races and they are definitely ones to keep an eye on the rest of the season. Even though they are only two of the runners that I’m mentioning, I could list the entire team, it was sure a day to go down in the books for St. Teresa. Starting off the season winning with 51 points sure makes me proud to be a Bulldog.
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