My eighth and final state track meet was not quite what I expected it to be. Since my freshman year, I've kind of seen the senior state meet as the grand finale of high school running. I viewed it as being the last chance I would have to go out with a bang, and my last chance to really make sure I had a memorable career. However, since I had another meet in Florida the next week, and since I spent most of my senior season at bigger out-of-state meets, it just didn't seem like as big of a deal as I always imagined it would.
The day of state, it was about 40 degrees and rainy. My first race, the 1600, and the one that I really expected to win, didn't go as well as I wanted it to at all. Typically, I let someone else lead for the first 1000m, then start my kick at 600m and try to catch them. It had worked pretty well up to that race, but for some reason, when I tried to kick this time, my legs refused to cooperate. They weren't tired at all, but they felt totally numb and would not work with me. I think because of the cold, my muscles just weren't feeling it. It was pretty disappointing, because I took second when I was predicted to win, and because I ran over five minutes in the 1600 for the first and only time this season, but in the bigger picture, I don't think it really matters.
I was supposed to run the 800m leg of the medley relay the first day of state as well, but my team had a collision in the handoff between the two 200m girls, so we were disqualified. That was really hard to watch because we were predicted to win that race as well, and our team really needed it in order to place in the top two.
On Saturday, the day started with the 3200m. It was strange to race that again, because in past years, it has typically been my focus, and this year, since I was focused on the mile, I found myself racing the 3200m all-out for the first time at the state meet. It didn't go badly at all, especially considering it was the first time I raced it all year. I finished in second again with a time of 10:49, which is the high-altitude school record for Park City now.
My final race was the 800m. That has never been my favorite, and to be honest, I'm just glad that I will probably never have to race it again. My teammates always tease me because the last 800 of my 1600 is often faster than my open 800m times. It's a phenomenon I will never really understand, but I can live with it.
Some of the best parts of state had nothing to do with my own competition. It's always wonderful to see friends you've made at other meets, and watch people you love compete. My friend Courtney, who swore up and down that she would never run a 3200m, ended up taking second with an incredible time. Jacob helped take his team to third in the Medley, and ran a great 800m despite the fact that he had been sick and unable to even train all week. Some of my teammates got huge PRs, and it was all around a great weekend. We had a fairly off weekend for competition, and ended up coming in third as a team, but spending time with my friends and team all together for one of the last times before I head off to college was wonderful.
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