Habari! (I realized I always say “hello”’ in my blogs, so I figured I might change it up a bit and say it in Swahili). First and foremost, HUGE congrats to Estero runner Kacy Smith, for recently committing to Ole Miss. What a wonderful, talented young lady who only will continue to shine. So Kacy, two words toyou… “GO REBELS”! Miss Smith, as many know was also the top runner in the elite race at the FSU invite this past weekend. Florida just keeps bringin’ it. It was yet another exciting weekend of racing. It was nice having a really big race here in Tallahassee for both the college and high school division. Big thanks to FSU, Gulf Winds Track Club and Coach Chris Sumner for all the hard work they did to prepare for two big, action packed days.
I was unable to make it to the high school race and missed all the action, but I was there Friday night for the college races. It was quite exciting.So, I will start by saying that it is a REALLY small world, or sometimes may seem to be. Some of you may be familiar with the name Evans Kirwa. Yeah, he was that crazy fast runner from Embry Riddle that won the Men’s Race. My mom and I met him two years ago at the FSU Relays and started small talk. Then after awhile we ended up learning that he actually went to the same school as my brother did in Kenya. Our families were basically neighbors! Now we are here in Florida watching him tear up the college scene. Also in the college race was another friend from Kenya, Elias Chesire. He placed second behind Evans. I almost lost my voice that night, I was cheering so loud. Way to go Evans and Elias!
The next day while I was taking the SAT, the Maclay Marauders were preparing to race in the Small Schools division. For a second week in a row the boy’s team ran their way to victory. Our top five had a 17:40 average. Very proud of these guys, keep up the hard work. The Lady Marauders also did an amazing job. We finished in second as a team with three girls finishing in the top ten. Kristin Sweeney was at the top of that pack finishing in a strong third place. Good job ladies, very proud! We have this next weekend off and I think it is a well deserved break. Coach Droze does a great job making sure we are ready for the big races and ready to perform well when it really counts. All the Marauders have been working so hard every day at practice. I cannot wait to see what the rest of the season has in store. Also, quick shout out to Mr. Covert. He took almost 3,000 photos at the FSU race this weekend.
As for me, I am staying steady on the cross training. All is going well, and have just a little more time left until I can start running again. I am very anxious, but have to stay patient and be diligent with all my other exercises.The other day Coach Droze had me do this crazy workout on the bike. It was almost as if I was running 400m repeats. Well that is what it felt like. It made me really sore. I don’t know if this is just a feeling runners get, but I definitely had this sense of satisfaction when I was finished. School is also going well, busy with work as always, but this week is homecoming week! There are a lot of fun activities going on and it is kind of bitter sweet being a senior and experiencing my last high school homecoming. That is it for now. Hope everyone is working hard, and having fun.
Happy Running and God Speed!
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