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Writer's pictureAnna Petr

Reflecting on my first year racing collegiately


Hello Runners!


Welcome back! Last I wrote was when I was getting ready for the West Regional meet. Since then, much has happened! Looking back on the past few weeks I feel a little sting over the results of my 5k, but mostly super grateful and already hungry for next year now that I know what it’s like at this level of competition.


I won’t give a ton of details about the actual race, because thinking about it is truly a little painful still, and I don’t feel that it’s a great representation of my first outdoor track season or even my first year collegiately running. To recap, I went into the weekend feeling really excited about getting the chance to compete against talent of this caliber, but I was also a little nervous about racing an event that I had only ever done once, as a pacer. That being said, when it came time to be on the track, after a mile I knew my legs just didn’t have it. I was in the second heat with a teammate and we made a couple good tactical moves in the beginning of the race, responding well to the pace. After about a mile I was starting to move towards the back of the pack, and by the time we had 6 laps to go I had been dropped pretty hard by most everyone. Honestly, it was probably up

there with one of the worst races of my life, and the timing of a bad race wasn’t great. Don’t really have an excuse for why things went south so quickly, but my coaches and I concluded that it was a long year of racing for my body and I’m ready to reset now! So, that’s how it went, not great, but keeping my eyes forward and getting my body some rest!


Although my race didn’t go as well as I had hoped, the main goal of going to Regionals was to get the experience racing a meet like this and putting myself in a good position to learn, so in the future when I am more in contention to qualify

for the next round I know what to expect. That was a goal I accomplished on the trip! Now I know how it feels to sit in the tent beforehand and feel the nerves from the other women as we walk out onto the track.


The day after we got back from Arkansas, some of my teammates and I decided to celebrate the end of our season with a little Bolder Boulder 10k action! I was definitely feeling the race and travel from the days before, but had SO much fun racing at one of the largest races in the U.S.! Now I am just starting to get in some base mileage after a 10-day break from running, during which I had COVID. Don’t get me wrong, I would have much rather not had COVID, but during my break when my roommates were out of the

house was pretty perfect timing. I felt icky for a few days, but was able to start running on time and am feeling almost completely back to normal! During my break I was able to do some hiking when I felt good enough and did a lot of resting! Now I am so so excited for some big summer miles and the upcoming cross country season.


Now it’s time for a little reflection, this is for me just as much as it is for you. After my terrible-horrible-no-good-very-bad (if you know you know) 5k, I really didn’t want to think about my own running for a bit, because there was still some sting. But since my sights are set somewhere else, and that race isn’t a representation of who I am as a runner, writing out my big takeaways from this year is helpful. Here are three of the many things I narrowed it down to:


1. Being able to work with teammates is a huge advantage

After my year at Wisconsin, which I spent either being big-time-injured or dealing with lots of little niggles, it had been a while since I got to practice teamwork and my first chance to really learn how to lean on teammates during races. Because my team is relatively old, and I was just a baby, I found that racing with the people you train with and trusting them is a game changer. I was super fortunate to be able to learn from and get help from so many women this year. I got to follow them around in workouts and races, copying every move they made, practically glued to their shoulders. This eventually helped me gain the confidence to go and lead reps and make race moves of my own, which in turn helped them so that we were truly working together.


2. Communication between coaches and staff is crucial

One thing that I learned early on in my relationship with my coaches is that they can only help you if you’re diligent about letting them know what’s going on with your body and asking questions as they arise. By communicating with my coaches quickly, we were able to take care of little aches and pains that came up so that they didn’t grow into bigger problems. When I was having a hard time finishing races and workouts my coaches, athletic trainers, and I immediately got testing done to figure out what the problem was. Building relationships here has allowed for happier and healthier training.


3. Training is not always going to be perfect

One thing that is still really sinking in for me is that training is not always going to go the way you planned. Whether you get sick, have an ache of pain come up, or are just going through a rough patch there are days that you wish would’ve gone differently. While I was happy that my training was more consistent than it had been in a year, there were still some small issues that came up which were stressful to handle. What I learned is that at the end of the day, you can’t control everything, but the good news is that no one can! Trust your coaches when they say that you will be okay, and know that no one’s training can be perfect 100% of the time. If you have an off day here and there, listen to the signs from your body, but know that it doesn’t define your fitness or preparedness!


I grew a lot this year-- running in college is hard, everyone here doing what I do is so talented. More than ever now I feel so lucky to be doing what I love and can’t wait for more. Thank you for reading! Find the “Presto Pesto” recipe below, this is of course from “Run Fast Cook Fast Eat Slow” and is a staple for me, I especially like the combo of pumpkin seeds and arugula!




Happy Running!

Anna



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