In Preparation

As the rest of the team starts to transition to outdoor track workouts, ten of us have our focus set on Indoor Nationals in just under two weeks. There is a lot to do on top of keeping a strong mental focus during practice.
We leave early Wednesday, Feb. 5, from "beautiful Baldwin City" (according to Coach). So, that leaves me with the chore of collecting piles of homework. I am not happy to say I am missing two tests that I can't make up until after Spring Break.
There is also the laundry issue. It has formed its own community in my room again. I actually think it’s staring at me as I sit at my desk ignoring it. Inevitably, it will all have to be washed before I leave so I have something clean to wear.
And of course there is the packing itself. Hopefully I can manage to remember all the essentials in what I'm sure will be a scurry Tuesday night to shove all items in my suitcase.
Besides all the smalls things, the trip looks to be an enjoyable experience. I will let you know how it goes because I honestly have no idea what to expect.

Just Call Me Murphy

Murphy's Law roughly states anything that can go wrong will go wrong. That statement seems to be holding quite true for my life. The past few days have been overflowing with bad luck.
After a long day of fighting through minute problems, I had a clumsy moment that ended being the cherry on top of what is about to be as sucky-week sundae.
A good friend of mine, Chris Scheideman, was picking me up outside Irwin to go to Sonic. I wasn't in a hurry, I wasn't messing around, and I definitely wasn't looking at the sidewalk. As soon as my shoes touched the glassy surface my body was briefly airborne before I hit the pavement. Luckily, my greater trochanter, the large bone in your upper thigh that seems to stick out a little bit, broke my fall. I was immediately welcomed by sharp, stabbing pains down my leg and into my lower back. Chris kindly got out of the car to make sure I wasn’t dead, and I tried to brush it off as much as possible.
In the morning I realized there was something wrong besides just a bruise and some soreness. I ended up sitting in a doctor's office for a couple of hours waiting for x-rays. As of now I do not have any fractures, but I can't run until all the pain is gone when I am walking. So, with conference coming fast I am patiently waiting for things to hurry up and heal.
The only good news is that things have to get better from here....right?

4:08.8

Butterflies are pounding inside me, I can feel them colliding with the sides of my stomach. There is energy tingling up every inch of me. I strip off my sweats as Katey Wegemer, our first leg of the 4x400 meter relay steps to the line. BANG! Katey soars away with the sound of the gun, two laps later she hands the baton to Kesley Heckathorne for the second leg. We are right in the mix of the pack. She flies past on her first lap, and I shuffle down to the exchange zone. As she fights the pain of the last stretch, I can feel myself anticipate the feel of the cool metal in my hand. Our exchange is sloppy, but once it is safely in my hand I am gone. Around the first corner I pass two girls and slip into second. The first 200 meters are gone in a flash as I feel myself digging deeper. I swerve into the second lane to pass the first place girl and pull back into the curve for the final stretch. My stomach is no longer filled with butterflies, but in a knot. My head is pounding and I know this is as fast as I can go. With all my teammates screaming me on, I hand the baton to Ashley Miller, our final leg. Handing off to her in first place position means one thing, victory. I try to watch her leg as I fight the extreme pain that is the 400. Kesley screams, "62!" a four second personal record for me. All the coaches are going crazy as Ashley crosses the line well ahead in first place. Now for the agony of waiting. The screen refuses to show us our official time. Finally we know.

4:08.21. Less than six tenths of a second faster than the qualifying mark. Nationals, here we come.