Hey flrunners! My name is Zack Bias and I am a senior at Creekside High School in Saint Johns, Florida. For starters I would like to thank Todd for giving me the opportunity to blog for you guys this season. Before I get into all the running stuff I want to tell you all a bit about myself. Like many other cross country runners, I am an incredibly weird person. I have a wardrobe of flashy pajama pants that I like to wear to school from time to time. I am known to blast some boy band music from my car to get amped up before practices and of course I also have one of the weirdest hobbies out there... running!
As this year’s cross country season is about to get underway, many teams are putting the finishing touches on the base phase of training. For me and my team at Creekside, it has been no different. Many of my teammates are coming off fantastic track seasons and are only getting better. Although for me, it has been a bit different this summer. This past track season I suffered a major medical setback that caused me to have a less than satisfactory junior track season. Despite this setback, I was still able to have some great running experiences this summer with my AAU team the St. Johns Striders. I was able to compete in meets like the Great Southwest Classic in New Mexico where I got my first taste of racing at altitude (not at all fun). This summer was all about enjoying running and improving in my new favorite event, the steeplechase. I wrapped up my AAU season in early July after the AAU Club National Championships.
From there, I began logging a ton of hot and humid miles, many of them with my fantastic training partner Cash Tampa. In mid-July, our team went to Brevard Distance Runners Camp, and enjoyed the cooler weather, fun team activities, and brutal hills. This camp gave our team a much needed break from the humidity of Florida and refreshed our motivation for the upcoming season. Our team has a powerful sophomore class and we will be riding a lot on their success this year. As for me, I can feel myself recovering from this past track season's setback and getting stronger each week. My goal for the time being is to simply improve my strength each week as I get back to the high level I know I am capable of competing. I have developed an addiction for cross training this summer and I see that leading me to a triathlon in the near future (after the XC season of course)!
My team and I will be opening our season at the UNF invite on September 6th. See you all out on the course and the best of luck to everyone during the upcoming season!
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