Hello Runners,
Welcome to the second post! Thank you to everyone who shared, subscribed, and sent encouraging messages over the last week! I was so excited about the blog and couldn’t wait to get going on the next post.
To update you on my life, much sunshine has been enjoyed, I competed in my first home meet, and the Rams are fine-tuning for Mountain West Conference Championships in a couple weeks!
As far as training and competitions have been going, I’ve been having some great learning opportunities and experiences for my first collegiate outdoor track season. I feel like when people describe their race as “a good learning opportunity,” it generally means that they aren’t completely satisfied. Well, to be completely candid, after coming off a 14 second PR in the mile (4:42) and a 3rd place at the conference meet indoors, I was ready to go in outdoor. So far I would say that I have not run to my full potential in the 1500m. My proudest moment came when I helped “pace” my amazing teammate Sarah to a PR in the evening 5k after running the 1500m (4:24) in the afternoon at West Coast Relays. After the first two miles of pacing, I decided “what the heck, even if I jog the last mile this would be a huge improvement for me!” So I told Sarah, “I’m staying in,” and she ripped the last mile and dragged me along behind! I was so relaxed in the race, had a lot of fun running a new PR of 16:14, and was so proud of all my teammates running big fat PR’s!
Most recently, at my last couple competitions and in a few race-simulation workouts, I have been hitting a wall with around 200m to go. It seems that I am fine, until I’m crawling down the home stretch, and then my legs simply will not listen to my brain. This has been frustrating and disappointing, but I am confident in my fitness, and based on my training I know I am capable of fast times. Not being able to have a strong finish is pretty out of character for me, so it’s clear that something is off. This could be due to a number of factors, but ultimately my body is trying to tell me something, so my coaches and I are working hard to figure it out before the conference championship!
Maybe you’ve wondered, maybe you haven’t, but either way, read below to learn about what I think are some important qualities coaches should have at the collegiate level. Having a good coach can make all the difference in the experience you end up having.
I learned through the process of being recruited that most college coaches will say that they care about you as a person and an athlete. Whether or not they will demonstrate that they truly value you as a person is not as easy to find, on the other hand. One of the biggest factors that I feel have led to my happiness at Colorado State is that the coaches here have embraced me as I am. The head coach, Art Siemers, and the assistant coach, Andrew Epperson, have done all I could have hoped for, helping me develop as an athlete, while allowing me to have space to be myself. A defining moment I remember from Coach Siemers proving this was when I first called him after entering the transfer portal. Transferring schools can be painful, but when I talked to him, he told me that he didn’t need to know why I left Wisconsin and focused more on what he could do to make CSU work for me.
I was so relieved that he didn’t probe and force me to relive the same hard conversation I had with so many people up to that point. Since being welcomed to the team by runners who genuinely loved coming to practice to run with each other, I knew I found a good home with coaches who had our best interest in mind.
Being the new person on the team, I was timid at first to ask questions and share concerns with the coaches. Every time I called or texted, I was met with nothing less than understanding and excitement to help. With these coaches I have never felt pressure from them to perform, nervousness when I’m at practice, or shame for struggling or having doubts about anything. I have appreciated the freedom we have outside of training, being able to go do what we want on weekends after our Saturday long run, without being assigned more work or having restricted activities. Many of my teammates also transferred to CSU from other programs, I can think of at least five that pop into my head. I know that we have a different level of appreciation for the kind of support Coach Siemers and Coach Epperson provide, because we have known an experience without it, and are forever thankful! More on transfers, though, later.
Moral of the story is that it’s important to find coaches who value your talent, but it’s more important to find coaches who want you to have a happy life as an athlete, student, and person.
Podcast of the Week:
Molly is the guest on this podcast, among her many accolades through her high school, collegiate, and professional career, her most recent was a bronze medal in the 2021 olympic marathon. Not only is she a tough competitor, but Molly opens up about mental health challenges she has faced as an athlete. One thing I love about listening to honest conversations professionals have, like this one with Molly, is realizing that everyone has struggles at one point. Even at her level, it’s not pretty and glamorous all the time, and that’s cool. Listen to get to know a somewhat unconventional, witty, and undoubtedly fierce marathoner!
Recipe of the Week:
I first found this website after Emma Coburn posted it on her Instagram, and I found it was really easy to make and super yummy. The rice is made with coconut milk and Thai red curry paste, and a variety of veggies cooked in coconut oil before being tossed together! I also like to add chicken sausage for some quick and quality protein.
Happy Running,
Anna
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