Marie is heading for the state meet...

Friday, May 27, 2011

I spent the day working, but Marie’s races were never far from my mind. I don’t know why it was stressing me out so much even if it had been my recommendation to run the mile, but it was. This was her last season…the end of her high school career and my time coaching her…and I wanted a great ending. There was nothing I could do at this point though…the hay was in the barn or it wasn’t. I knew it was…the trick was getting her to believe it.

I stopped in Twinsburg to meet up with John so he could go to the meet, as well. Though he didn’t know Marie well, he did know Kim from our camping trip to the Adirondacks…and that was reason enough. I told him being late was not an option, which is not something you should say to John when he’s driving. He did well though, and we made it with time to spare and no tickets.

Marie found me about 30 minutes before the race. It was clear that our conversation the night before had had the desired effect. She was confident and ready to win the 1600. We talked a little more about race strategy…holding back and being comfortable not leading and then outkicking the field to the tape. When the gun finally went off to start the race, I began to relax. I was watching on the backstretch – 250 meters from the finish line and the place I always stand. She came by running shoulder to shoulder with three other girls in the front of the pack. I could tell she was holding herself in check, but she is so fast that, even holding back, she was at the front. She went through the first quarter in 75 seconds…a perfect time and 5 seconds slower than she had run the week before when she had not felt strong in the later stages of the race. She continued to run about three yards behind the lead runner for laps two and three and there was little question that she would be finishing in the top four spots and qualifying to the state meet. As she passed me for the final time on the last lap, she accelerated past the lead runner to take the lead. That runner…not worried about running in the 800 in 30 minutes…responded and retook the lead in the homestretch. Marie stayed with her for a few strides, but knowing she had a lock on the state meet, elected to back off and try to save something for the 800. She finished second in a personal best 5:02, setting the school record in the process.

I pounded Kim’s back, who was standing next to me and jumping up and down screaming Marie’s name. After she calmed down, I asked her when she knew Marie was going to qualify. “When the gun went off,” she stated confidently. I knew what she meant. We’d been worried, but we knew how good Marie was and how hard she’d worked over the last year. It had to end this way. I saw Marie 15 minutes after the race and she couldn’t have been happier. They were calling the runners for the 800…which surprised her…and she asked me what she should be doing with so little time left to warm up. I went over the details, but could tell her heart was not in it. She had qualified in the race she wanted to run in the state meet and nothing else mattered. She went out slowly at the start of the race and was never a factor. The winning time was slower than she had run two days earlier when running her leg of the 4x800, but I was pleased that she had not qualified for both events. Now we had one thing to do…one job ahead…total focus on one race at the state meet.

John dragged me to dinner after the meet and I broke down and had lasagna…which was full of cheese and noodles and tasted delicious. I was sure I’d pay for it when I stepped on the scale the next day, but for that moment in time it seemed like the right thing to do.

I’d written to the doc earlier in the day and described the pain I was continuing to experience. He wrote back that he saw an MRI and surgery in my future…something I dread and will take steps to avoid…if it’s possible.