First and foremost, I just want to let you guys know that hammocking is the best. Holy cats. I don't know how I made it twenty years without ever trying it. (Okay, I guess I technically tried it before now, but it was one of those weird ropey hammocks that looks like a net designed to trap people like me who don't have a lot of street smarts or coordination. It took me ten minutes to get out of, and I was traumatized). When I found out that my season would be extended another two weeks after Texas, I decided to make a point of getting outside more to keep on top of my mental health and avoid morphing into a bedroom-dwelling Netflix goblin. The natural first step after that was to get a hammock and commit to visiting Bozeman Beach with some teammates. Also to go driving and look for bears because I still haven't seen one since moving to Montana, and I desperately want to before I move back to the motherland. As I write this, I am on my third hour of sitting in this hammock, and I have no intentions of leaving ever. It is my home now.
Since I last posted, life has gotten pretty wild. Both the Big Sky championships and the NCAA west prelims took place, and despite the fact that I was missing the piece of myself that died during finals week, they both went surprisingly well. The week of Big Sky kicked off as any good week does with a sixteen hour bus ride. I am not the type of person who typically travels well. At one point on the trip out to Sacramento, we drove past a gas station and I actually started tearing up because I thought we weren't going to stop for several more hours. Fortunately, my teammates and trainers realize how terrible I am with travel, so they made the trip much easier to get through than I thought it would be. Also, we had a Harry Potter marathon on the bus so I guess you could say I was living my best life. Madi, Diego and I got the opportunity to do our final workout on the host track after dark on Tuesday, and Madi and I tried Run Gum for the first time, which may have been a mistake. Our energy levels are already several times higher than most, so the added caffeine no doubt made us delightful to be with.
My first event was the 10k on Friday night. Most of us running it were also entered in the 5k Saturday afternoon, so it was much more strategic than fast. I honestly don't remember most of the race beyond turning to my coaches every lap to see if they wanted me to start making moves yet or nah, and one of my teammates yelling solid advice like, "Move your legs!" and "Always chew your food before you swallow!" I ended up taking my first conference win in the 10k, which still feels a little unreal. After several months of frustration and feeling like my training wasn't paying off, it was incredible to have a weekend like that, and I'm beyond grateful to the coaches and teammates who supported me through it all. The 5k was the following afternoon. I was chasing a school record, which would be 16:29, but came just short of that with a win and a conference meet record. It was the most fun I've had racing in a couple years, and I'm glad I had the opportunity to represent MSU there one last time.
Two weeks after Big Sky, several teammates and I got the chance to compete at west preliminaries in Austin, Texas. If you've never been to Austin, just imagine you're in a large sauna with a lot of barbecue and the most incredibly polite people on earth. The food and people there were both great, but the running made me consider switching to shot put. Also, I can never go back because I humiliated myself, my ancestors, my team and my country. We went on a shakeout the day before competition and found an on-campus turtle pond. Naturally, because I always have to be into everything, I had an all-consuming need to touch a turtle, so I poked one on the shell. Then touching was no longer enough and I couldn't leave until I had picked one up. The turtle I accosted definitely did not want to be picked up. It was trying to latch onto the concrete with its little turtle claws, but I wanted it to love me, so I insisted on holding it anyway. After successfully getting it off the ground and Lion King-ing it up into the air, I felt a single turtle claw reach out and gently graze the back of my hand. Folks, I was not ready for or expecting that, so naturally I screamed like a monster and hurled the turtle like a discus. Fortunately it landed safely in the pond, but I don't think I have ever embarrassed my coach that much. He immediately said we had to get out of there. I'm 90% sure an elderly Asian man captured the whole incident on his phone, and I just pray that video never sees the light of day.
Between the turtles and the bottle of Pedialyte I consumed pre-race, there was some kind of magic in Texas because despite the fact that it was 85 degrees and one million percent humidity at the time of the 10k, I managed to place eighth and qualify for nationals in Eugene. It was probably the happiest and sweatiest moment of my life. Mostly because I'm stoked to try Voodoo Donuts in Oregon, but also because running is cool I guess. If anybody has good dessert recommendations around Eugene, hit me up for real.
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