Welcome back Islander fans!
I want to start this blog off by expressing my gratitude to everybody that read my first blog and sent positive feedback about it. I must admit that I kept checking the official Facebook page all Tuesday morning just waiting to see the final product. The only emotions to perfectly describe when that moment finally arrived are a cross between overjoyed and blessed. I guess it truly is all about the little things.
With that being said, this past week was all about the little things. Monday morning I woke up feeling exhausted and sick. Needless to say, I wanted to trade my morning at practice for several extra hours of sleep in my bed. However, I took a deep breath, said a prayer, and headed out the door to the track. My mood quickly changed from feeling drowsy to excited once I found out that we were drawing numbers for "Bigs & Littles", which is where an upperclassman pairs with an underclassman (kind of like a mentor and a mentee). My LITTLE is Taylor Hawes and I am super excited to be her BIG. From the beginning, I have noticed that she literally works her butt off at every practice. Her resilience and drive are ever more visible during our grueling speed workouts. Keep it up, Tay-Tay!
On Tuesday morning, some new décor was added to our locker room. When we had our team dinner a couple of weeks ago, we
made a list of short-term/long-term goals and individual/team goals. Our team captain, Vanessa Galindo, bought poster frames, framed the lists and hung them in our locker room to serve as a constant reminder of why we do this thing called running. Speaking of Vanessa, Wednesday was her 22nd birthday! To celebrate, we took our need-for-speed of running and transferred it to the racetrack by going go-karting. It's safe to say that by the end of the races, she was "feeling 22". Hope you had a great birthday, Vanessa!
Friday afternoon came and the Islanders were off to San Antonio to run in the Incarnate Word Invitational Saturday morning. Once we checked into our hotel, we headed to Live Oak City Park to run the course, followed by dinner. Two former Islanders Eric ('09) and Kristine Burciaga ('11) graced us with their presence at dinner. Kristine was a senior when all the current seniors were freshmen. To this day, we still admire Kristine's dedication and passion for running. She's definitely been a role model for me, as well as the other seniors, since day one. I know I aspire to leave behind the same kind of influence among the underclassman as Kristine did.
On Saturday morning at 6:30 a.m. we left the hotel to head to the cross country course. Shortly before the men's race, as the ladies and I began our warm-up, a cool breeze was felt in the air. We couldn't help but to think that the weather conditions were ideal for us to run a personal record. Throughout our warm-up, we cheered on the guys whenever our paths crossed; the guys do the same for us, too. Edgar Martinez was the first Islander to cross the finish line for the men's team, running a personal best of 24:55.5 in the 8k.
Finally, it was time for the ladies to step onto the line and wait for the gun to go off, and just like that, over one hundred runners were dashing across the starting line trying to get into perfect position. All was calm for the first six-minutes of the race and then it happened - the Heavens opened up and the rain came pouring down. Instantly the soft, dirt trail turned into a slippery mess. The chances of running a personal record were very low so I knew I had to run smarter and tougher than the girls around me. At times it felt like I was Bambi trying to walk on ice; other times it felt like my shoes were in four-wheel drive. It was the latter feeling when I knew I had to seize the opportunity and really surge while the terrain was still decent. The rain lasted for the duration of our race and well afterwards, too. In fact, the first half of the course was completely flooded by the time we departed the park. You would have thought that animals would be scurrying from the woods, waiting in pairs to board an ark. Okay, maybe that is an exaggeration, but you get my point.
Even though the weather conditions were not as ideal as we originally thought, the rain made for a fun race! I couldn't help but to think that this – the rain, the mud, the turns and the hills – was what cross country was intended to be like.
With another cross country race in the books, there is only one more race until the conference meet. This week the Islanders will be riding the wave to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to compete in the University of Alabama Invite. I will not be competing this weekend, but I will be sure to have a teammate fill us in with all the details about their travels and race. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to examine the "little things." GO ISLANDERS!
"I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." Phil 4:13
-Rossi
