Long time no hear! A lot has happened as well.
After our indoor Conference in Birmingham, I caught a bad case of the flu, which unfortunately turned out to be Corona. I was initially nervous, as it had already crumbled me a lot last year. However, after just under two weeks, I got back into training. The intensity came quite quickly. Follow at your own risk...LOL
There was not much time either. One week later, I went to Raleigh. There I was supposed to compete in the 10,000m. I was looking forward to it. The meet is vast, and many good universities are competing. Even the 10,000m had three heats starting!!! Coach and I drove almost 12hrs to Raleigh on Tuesday, 3/21. I could rest Wednesday, and we checked out NC State, the uni hosting the meet.
Thursday was race day! My start wasn't until 10:25 pm. (already pretty damn late). My race started off well; goal time was a flat 34 min. I was on pace. But soon, it was clear; my lungs were on strike. My asthma made it impossible to keep pace; I became slow in motion. I was about to give up for several laps. But that's not my thing; I found a way to pull through, mastered the challenge, and finished the run with a 36:14min.
I was disappointed - not what I came for. But I'm also proud. I have to consider the circumstances and what happened in the past weeks. It was all I could get out of that day.
The week after was business as usual. My weeks have been busy, so my day is planned from 4:30 am to 7 pm every minute. Admittedly, somewhat exhausting, physically as well as mentally. But time is slowly coming to an end here. :)
And already it's race week again. This week we went to Tampa. Friday (04/07) at noon, we drove comfortably about four hours to the west coast of Florida. The races took place on Saturday evening. Saturday consisted of a casual run in the morning, lots of eating, and lots of resting in bed. At 3 pm, we left for the track. The first start was at 5 pm, the 3,000m obstacle! It was freaking hot (30°) and humid too. I started with the other Distance girls over the 1500m.
The starting signal was at 05:25 pm. Luckily, USF has an indoor football facility. This was nice and cool; we could stay there and warm up. However, the 20 minutes outdoors before the start was enough to heat up. Lol
I finished the 1500m with a time of 4:44 min (small PR). I am not used to this distance, and I felt it. Tactically it was a bad race, and I missed my chance to run a faster time. Unfortunately, I didn't go out initially, and my decision to go along didn't fall. But I can still be satisfied. Originally, I had no expectations at this distance- this is not my distance. After the run, I went out for 5 minutes, put my legs up, and had some food.
I also wanted to attack the 5,000m, and I only had a good 1 1/2h between events. The start should fall at 07:10 pm. The sun was slowly setting, improving the temperatures. The starting signal fell, and I positioned myself directly in the leading position. It was getting quite windy. The first few laps were super relaxed; I liked running alone. After 2 1/2 km into the race, I had an asthma attack. Unfortunately, I've had asthma since my corona disease last year, and I haven't gotten used to the humid weather yet. From then on, it was all about finishing for me. I tried to get my breathing under control, didn't work - it happened.
17:20min was my time at the finish. - Puhh is okay for the circumstances.
10:30 pm, I lay in bed and tried to sleep despite the caffeine consumed.
On Sunday, we went back after breakfast. Now we have three weeks of training before our next meet. University is also ending, and it's already graduation in less than a month! :)
Every challenge makes you stronger. Enjoy the process, and don't lose sight of your goal.
