Racing nationals was definitely an adventure! Luckily it didn't rain today, but the course was total mud and it was FREEZING! I wore every running item I had brought on the trip to stay warm in the tent while waiting to warm up. We ran 2 miles warm up then headed to the line. It was awful having to strip away the warm layers to race. I wore my arm sleeves, calf sleeves, headband and gloves (for just the first 3K) during the race. With the wind chill, it was 11 degrees! The start had been moved up 100 meters so we weren't starting in standing water. I got a good start but was definitely worried about the mud from the get go- it just sapped away energy from your legs trying to race through it.
I was in a good place with my teammates until about mile 1 when someone passing me stepped on the back of my spike... ah shoot. My first instinct was to kick it off right away but I was running through mud and if I was barefoot for the rest of the course, that would suck. Coach's voice came to mind (along with rule #1 and rule #2) "if your spike gets stepped on, unless you are in the last 800 meters, do not kick it off. Stop, pop it back on and keep going." So I jumped to the side, popped it back on and jumped back in. Kenna yelled at me "catch me!" when I stopped, so that helped get me back moving. I passed her and Nicole and way behind Sarah who I usually follow. The next 2K, I struggled mentally because I was so far back in the race. I finally got myself to keep moving up and passing. About the 5K was the worst mud- girls were sliding everywhere and my spikes and toes were so squishy. I started laughing watching everyone slip and slide. I saw Sarah start to fall back (at the point where I usually catch her and we finish together) and I kept moving to try and catch her by the finish. She finished 6 seconds ahead but it helped me to snap back into moving up. I finished with a slow time but it's the best I could do that day. BYU came in as the 31st team and we finished 28th and that was our goal. I am so happy we got to race at nationals this year! Even though I wish I had a better race, it was an important learning experience. We'll be back next year and hopefully in sunshine and a dry course!
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