This was by far Emma's best cross-country season yet. She came off a strong track season and pushed to get back into shape after being in Jerusalem for 3 weeks and a car accident that followed. If there is one word I would use to describe Emma's passion for running it is DETERMINATION. When something unexpected falls in her path, she simply finds a way around it. This season she ran smart, and it paid off. Of the 6 meets she participated in, two of them she came away with a championship win. She ran at elevation for all 6 meets and yet, one of her best meets, was actually at 9,000ft in Crested Butte. Emma's season started out with one of those unexpected situations. The day before the first meet her shin started bothering her. She showed up to the meet and was contemplating whether to race or not. She made the decision to start the race and listen to her body. By mile 2 she knew that she needed to stop, so she did. Even though it wasn't in her nature to stop, her ability to listen to her body so she could be healthy for the entire season showed her growth and maturity. This race is the most popular race every season since it is at lower elevation and a fast, flat course in Denver. Emma was the only one from her team fast enough to enter the Sweepstakes Division. So, all by herself, she warmed up and did her drills. It's not always easy to feel all alone when you are racing but Emma never wavers in her determination even though she walks to that starting line without any teammates. She ran this race smart and was able to pull a 6 second PR from last years' time on a relatively warm day. Emma was ready to crush this race and was all pumped up before she ran. From the start to the very end, I could see the fire in her eyes, and it was marvelous to watch. For most of the race she was right behind the lead girl but during the last 800m of the race she started to pull away and kept running faster and faster so that she would have a big enough lead to the finish. Sure enough, she held that lead and came in 1st to win her very first HS 5K. It was such an amazing finish that a spokesman for the Gazette came over and interviewed Emma. As cool as that was, it was even more impressive when we saw the paper the next morning and found she and the lead boy were all over the sports section of the Gazette. Usually, the team heads to sea level for a mid-season race but this year the coach decided to go in the opposite direction and head to higher elevation for a different kind of challenge. It would have been nice for Emma to have raced at sea level, but this race ended up being a fun one for the team to participate in. At 9000ft, the team set off on a half paved, half trail 5K run through the town of Crested Butte. I loved how they had all the teams lined up 100ft before the starting line and then one by one the announcer called each team to the starting line. It was fun to see the Pine Creek girls run together as they prepared for their elevation 5K. The organizer at the start line got a little mixed up and didn't order the girls on the front line correctly and since Emma's team was one of the last couple of teams called to the starting line she didn't get pulled like she should and was a few rows back when the race started. That didn't stop her from jetting out and making her way to the front of the pack. She and another girl from Heritage HS led the race from start to finish. Emma pulled away the last 1/2 mile and finished with a 1st place finish in a time of 18:44.70. She had a 12 sec. lead over the second-place finisher. This race marked the second 1st place finish that Emma has had this season. She was thrilled to be able to perform so well and to be able to meet Emma Coburn who is a World Champion and Olympic medalist in the steeplechase. Even Emma's club coach, Lisa Rainsberger, was there to cheer her on. It was a great race and one in which she will always remember. Meet #4 - Regionals This is always the most important and most nerve-racking race of the season. Only the top 15 and the top 3 schools qualify for the State Championship. We were not worried that Emma had the ability to make it into the top 10 but wanted to make sure she felt good and didn't have anything unexpected happen during the race. With a lot on the line, she approached this race like a fierce competitor. She held her own against the Air Academy girls who remained the #2 girls' team in the nation at the time. Not only did she place 4th against a really competitive field of runners, but she broke an almost perfect score by the Air Academy girls' team, and she got a PR for the course. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect race for Emma to close out the main part of her season. MEET #6 - STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS The State Championship course in Colorado is one of the hardest high school state courses in the nation not only for the elevation that these kids are running at but also the hilly nature of the course. This year we were blessed with cooler weather than previous years. Emma was the only girl from her team to qualify to run in the state meet, however, many of her teammates came to support her and cheer her on. They even made the sweetest sign for her. As she made her way to the starting line for the last time during a state XC race, she was focused and probably a little nervous. Her head was in the game, but she had been struggling emotionally that morning. She went out and ran a good race, getting a 15 sec PR for this course, but missed being in the top 10 by 2 seconds. She was crushed that she missed being in the top 10 for the second year in a row but thrilled that she was able to snag such an amazing PR. In the end, Emma should be so proud of all that she accomplished this season. It really was her best season ever!
This month started out with some last preparatory runs before R2R2R followed by a taper week, our big adventure in the Grand Canyon (see post HERE), and finally some recovery time. One of our last big runs was running some downhill trail miles on Rampart Range Road. Dionne and I had her brother drive us 6 miles up so we could run down to simulate the first part of R2R2R. I was also able to do some hill repeats with the Striders at Red Rocks. By the time I hit my taper week I was so relieved! After we got back from the Grand Canyon we took some time off and then got back out there slowly by riding bikes with Madeline. We took her to ride both on the Santa Fe gravel trail and the paved section up by Costco. She had more fun on the paved section and enjoyed playing at the park at MVP. After 10 days of resting and riding bikes or the peloton, I decided to jump back into the Striders run. I did some intervals at the CC track and felt surprisingly good.
I knew that sometime this year Andrew was going to propose to Alex. The week before they came out to visit us in Colorado, Andrew told me that he had the ring and was going to bring it with him. We both went to work planning a surprise proposal for Alex. He told her that I was going to do a photo shoot of the two of them and I secretly hid the ring in my camera bag. When we got to the perfect spot, I slipped the ring into Andrew's bag pocket, and I stood a ways off and told them I was just trying to do some tester shots. While I stood watching but could hear nothing, Andrew told Alex of his love for her and when he bent on one knee I was there to capture it all. I feel nothing but blessed to have been able to witness this amazing moment in their lives. Thank you Andrew for letting your mama be part of your special day!!!
I made sure to volunteer for Madeline's field trip to the pumpkin patch because it is such a fun place to play. This was the third time both Madeline and I have been to this particular pumpkin patch. I was in a group with 4 little girls plus another mom. We basically had free play for a few hours and jumped from one activity to the next. We let each of the girls get to choose which activity they wanted to do next. The favorite of the group was definitely the roller slides. Madeline would have stayed there all day if it had been up to her. Madeline also loved feeding the animals, jumping on the big bounce pillows, riding the cow train, and running through the hay maze. At the end of the field trip each of the kids got to pick out a pumpkin to take home. Madeline choose a tiny white pumpkin that fit in the palm of her hand. It was the cutest thing ever!
With Madeline showing a lot of promise as a runner last cross-country season, we contemplated about whether we wanted to start running with the Kokopelli kids. After some serious thought we decided to wait one more year and do Landsharks again. Although I appreciated the simplicity of her season, I didn't love how disorganized Landsharks was this year. Since Madeline is now in second grade she has the opportunity to move up to the one-mile race. She was nervous but excited to try out a new distance. At the very first meet, her coaches didn't communicate well with some of the kids, and she mistakenly entered the 1/2-mile race with the younger kids. She ran slower for that one lap thinking that she had to save energy for 2 laps. Poor thing. For the second and third meet she entered the one-mile race (2 laps) and did a great job running against 2nd-5th graders. During the second meet I noticed halfway through the first lap that she was chilling with friends and having fun talking until I told her to stop socializing and start running! She made a great improvement on the second lap. For the final meet she finally understood how to run the one-mile race and finished faster than the previous week. I think she enjoyed the season running with her friends from her school, but one thing is for sure, she is ready for a better organized and tiny bit more serious run club. Way to go on another great season little one! Meet #1 - Air force academy (falcon stadium) |
kebler pass
ABBY
15 years old
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emma
17 years old
After a difficult week of not feeling great I showed up for this race and gave it everything I had. It was fun to start in Wave 1 with Zarya. I was strong but not overly fast up to Hydro and through the W’s. I hit all of my racing goals up to Barr Camp but then I lost some steam. I died a bit on that next 3-mile section. This was the only section that I didn’t train on over the summer. It was also the most difficult mentally to get through. I tried really hard to keep up with some of the other runners from my group that ended up passing me on this section, but it was all I could do to keep moving, even if that meant hiking fast. I recovered a bit when I hit A-frame and tried to run more than I did the previous 3 miles. I never stopped and tried to run as many runnable sections that I could. During the last half mile, I literally told myself to put one foot in front of the other. I was so grateful for Mike and Madeline who came to the top to cheer me on. I was also grateful for the many amazing friends at Striders who I was able to train with and who all did an amazing job!
Since this was an odd year, we celebrated with a family birthday for Madeline. Her biggest request was that I make a Pikachu cake. It had been quite some time since I had decorated a cake so I was relieved that this cake would be fairly easy to do. Madeline loved it and that is all that mattered. For her birthday this year she got Anna and Elsa barbie dolls from Grandma Anne and Grandpa Franz and a mermaid barbie doll, ramen squash mallow, little figurines, and a new bike from mom and dad. She was so excited by all of her new toys.
Second Grade with Mrs. Lindgren, Landsharks Run Club, Cello lessons
Excited to meet new friends
Most concerned about becoming stronger in math
Favorite class is Library and Science
10th grade, Sophomore, Theatre Club, HS Musical, Honors World Literature, Chemistry, German 2, AP US Government, Geometry, Lifelong Sports, Study Hall, Seminary
Excited about being part of the theatre club
Most concerned about tests
Favorite class is Theatre 3 and AP Gov
12th grade, Senior, Cross-country and Track Teams, Kokopelli run club, Violin, Piano, Chamber Orchestra, English National Honors Society, German National Honors Society, AP Calc AB, AP English Literature, AP German, US History, Women's Weights, Lifeguarding, Seminary
Excited about almost being done with high school
Most concerned college decisions
Favorite class AP Lit
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