Simplot Finals, Coaches Mile & Off To Home

I didn’t take the bus to the meet this morning… I hung out at the hotel with Corom and the kids and the other coaches’ kids. Our first race wasn’t until 9:30 and the bus had to leave by 7:30 a.m. Of course my kids with the excitement of a hotel… got up at 6:15.

We had fun… Until we had to go clean up the room. I took off to the arena around 9 to watch my runner, run the mile. He did great! He ran the 1st 4 laps (it is a 200 meter track-on wood-so you have to run 8 times around to make it a mile) strong. The next 2 1/2, he ran tired. His posture and breathing changed. But, very impressively, held on to his lap splits. The last lap and a half he pushed and was able to get a great lap split! He matched his PR (personal record). He ran well. A 4:36 mile!

Corom and the girls showed up shortly after his race and right before mine… The “Coaches” Mile. I was out on a 23 minute warmup run (about 3 miles). For some reason, this coaches mile makes me more nervous than any other race. I don’t know if it is because of the peer pressure of all the high school kids watching and expecting a good race or what… The mile is tough for me to race. I am so used to training for the long distance races that running a mile is a sprint race. Oh… It hurt. 🙂

The 1st 400 (2 laps on this track) felt great… Then came the next 6… Oh my goodness… It was tough. 🙂 I knew the mental toughness was going to have to come out. I ended up running a 5:32. And I was happy to finish! I love doing the mile races that the meets have for the coaches because it makes me appreciate all the hard effort the high school kids put in.

Next came the Flag Ceremony and the Olympian recognition… Amazing!

The high school athletes did a “parade” around the track to recognize them and all the different states they are coming from. We were able to grab one of the Olympians for a quick picture!

After the ceremony… Corom and the 2 younger girls left to drive back home and me and my 2 older girls stayed until our runner ran his race. I was able to squeeze in a 31:04 minute run for a cool down and more mileage. I ran a total of 59:42 and about 8 miles.

Then came our next runner’s race… He qualified in the finals for the 2 mile. He was up against the top runners in the Western States! He is a talented runner and he knows what he needs to hit every lap to get the time he wants! Today’s race was a struggle for him…. But before I continue, he ran a 9:37 (a 2 second PR). So a struggle for him doesn’t mean he backs off or quits, it just means he works twice as hard as what he normally does to accomplish his goals. He ran the 2 mile on Thursday to qualify for today and it is hard to race like that again all out with a day in-between. He looked strong going in to the first few laps and maintained his pace and place throughout the race. It was fun to watch.

We loaded up the bus and drove on back home. We had a fun time… My girls loved it and the high school kids are great. My 2 older girls loved the bus ride home… Especially with Coach Thompson’s kids on the bus…

We went to our friend’s the Fullmer’s house (Corom is helping Mike replace his deck)… Then a little bit later, Z (our Foriegn exchange student), the girls and I came home and went to bed. Corom stayed to help… I cleaned my house and then Z and I relaxed. 🙂