Proud to be a Bulldog

It's such a great day to be a Bulldog!

Today was the first race of this cross country season. We traveled to Athens, Georgia for the first time. I was pretty nervous this morning but also excited. I knew that if we raced as a pack like we have been running our workouts then we would do really well. My dad's and older brother's encouragement helped so much before the race. They both kept telling me how awesome I was going to do and how excited they were for me. I have such a great family :)

My plan was to go out with the same pack that I ran the last workout with, even if I didn't like the pace they were running. It was very hard for me to stick with them the first mile because I'm not used to going out that fast. We ran the first mile as a pack in 5:47. We started spreading out after that, but I was determined to stay with whoever was in the front of our pack. Eileen started leading it so I stuck with her and we ran the second mile together. She really pushed me and helped me stay in the race. We came through the second mile at 11:58. After that, I pulled ahead and started going after the next girl. Anna came up beside me the last half mile and ran with me, which helped so much! I would have slowed down had it not been for her. I cam through the line at 19:02, 5th place for our team. I really wanted to run sub-19, but I am extremely happy with 19:02. This is the fastest I have run in an opening XC meet, so I am excited for the rest of the season.

The reason I gave lots of details about the race is to emphasize the teamwork. I know I have been writing about this a lot, but it has really been on my mind. It seems to be the theme for this season. The reason I ran a good race was because each girl on the team played a part in pushing me. I would have slowed down during parts of the race had there not been a teammate beside me. I was so proud of our team today! Our first and 5th runners were only 50 seconds apart, which is a huge improvement from the past two seasons. We ran a tough race on just strength training. We haven't done 1 workout at race pace, and we were still able to race as well as we did today. I am so proud of our team! UAWA!

We placed second to Georgia, one of the best teams in the conference. I am so excited for how our team is going to do this season. Next meet is the home meet- 2 weeks from today!

Today was also a good day because it was the first football game! I absolutely love football season! It felt so good to ring my cowbell today- loud and proud, and I have some blisters to show for it! Being in the stadium at the beginning of the game is the such a great feeling. Seeing all the white (it was a white out game against Memphis), hearing all the cowbells, and feeling the excitement all around was such an awesome experience. We beat Memphis 49-7! I cannot wait for the Auburn game next Thursday!

It's an awesome day to be a Bulldog!