Hello! My name is Ashley Klingenberg. I am a rising sophomore at Lake Brantley High School. To introduce myself a bit more, I love running! (I'm glad we have something in common.)
As many runners across Florida are preparing for the upcoming cross-country season, I am sure a majority of us have started training, whether that be group runs through your favorite loop or attending a running camp. Lake Brantley cross country made the trip up to Virginia Tech to participate in the distance running camp held at the campus. If I could summarize the camp in three words, I would say, "So much fun!"
A run while at camp that stood taller than the rest would be our "mountain run". Now let me tell you the description is EXTREMELY accurate because it was simply a mountain...run. No exaggeration, there wasn't one leveled out part of the course but us Floridians always experience mountains so it was a breeze (;. The scenery throughout was extremely pretty. One side had an incline wrapped in a blanket of green and tall trees. The opposite side had a view of the other mountains and valley below. Overall, a 10/10 run.
Beyond running, the camp hit hard into the mental aspects of racing and difficult training days. Basically, we attended seminars on how to handle our "hill" of a sport and how to psychologically and physically get the most out of yourself. I really enjoyed this, because in reality it was school, but every topic had to do with running! Some key points that really stuck with me were:
· There is a difference between lazy and being tired; you are allowed to feel tired but you need to distinguish between pure exhaustion or just wanting to slow down for comfort
· Take care of you and what you can do for you to get better, focus on yourself
· Effort/time
· Run the workout based on how you feel; time doesn't always play a role in whether you ran a good workout or not; factors aren't always going to give you the light and bouncy feeling everyday
· Smile before you run, remind yourself why you love it so much and it will stay fun
To sum up, the camp was an AWESOME way to get my team together and really pursue the fun in running, while learning and challenging ourselves. In the long run (literally), I know this will assist us in the upcoming season and many practices to come. (:
Q: Why did the vegetarians stop running cross country?
A: They didn't like meets!
Personal Bests
- 800m - 2:11.75
- 1500m - 4:38.19
- 1600m - 4:56.27
- 1 Mile - 5:19.48
- 3000m (xc) - 10:40.30
- 3000m - 10:21.16
- 5K (xc) - 18:17.20
Want to blog for flrunners.com this season or help out with our coverage? Let us know. Send an email to Todd.Grasley @flosports.tv!
