West Shore's Sarah Day Caps Off Senior Season With UF Commitment

When you were're growing up your first love wasn't running.  What activities did you start out doing?

 

It’s kind of a funny story, actually. With West Shore being such a highly achieving, college preparatory school; I knew that going into it I would have to focus a great deal of my time on academics. My mom suggested that I drop one of my sports, which back in my elementary school days consisted of soccer and dance. Being on a competitive soccer team that travelled frequently and dancing several times throughout the week, there was just no time for anything else. But I can’t go without saying that I had always wanted to participate in one of the Hershey Track meets that all of my friends were involved in.

Your nickname on your soccer team was the "Energizer Bunny", because you had so much energy. Then when you entered West Shore the cross country coach caught your attention and he was delighted to find out you played soccer. Then the rest was history as they say right?

 

He encouraged me to at least try out the sport, but at the time the closest thing I knew about cross country was the cross country that involved skiing, which doesn’t exactly mix well with the Florida weather. He explained to me that Cross Country is very similar to track and having always wanted to try it out in elementary school, I thought why not. The only reason my mom agreed to let me try it out was that she couldn’t imagine that I would actually enjoy a sport that solely consisted of running. I proved her wrong when on the first day of practice we did a time trial and I came in first in front of all the returning varsity girls. From then on, the rest is history.

 

You started running for West Shore as a 7th grader, made it to regionals that year and states as an 8th grader.  What was that experience like for you at such a young age?

 

One of the luxuries of attending a Junior/Senior High School is the opportunities. At most schools, in middle school you run middle school track and in high school its high school track. In eighth grade, our team was stronger than ever before. The team consisted mainly of seniors, who were experienced and eager to make their final year count after putting in all of the hard work for the past five years. It was the first time in West Shore history that any team out of all sports ever qualified to compete at the State level of competition. Being so young, it was such an honor and fulfilling experience to have the ability to race and be surrounded with the motivating atmosphere that goes hand in hand with the territory of the most elite runners in the state. I feel like this early on occurrence has fueled my drive for success these past few years.

In addition to the cross country course, you really started to make some noise on the track as well after your freshman and sophomore years. What are some of your greatest high school memories?

 

The track season of my junior year most notably marked my breakout time in my running career. My endurance and ability to pace thrived in the 3200 meter race, which although I also competed in the 1600, the 3200 was my main focus. The most exciting moment during my track season was becoming District Champion in the 3200, and surpassing my greatest competitor by one second; whom I thought was impossible to beat. I placed runner up at Regionals in the 1600 and 3200, and qualified for State where I placed 4th in the 1600 and was State Runner-up in the 3200 and got a PR of 10:53 in the 3200 and 5:08 in the 1600, which was a huge motivator to continue my strive for success.  

 

How have you grown as a runner over the past five years?

 

Although running obviously requires much physical ability, it is moreover a mental sport. It is evident that experience is the key to success, and by overcoming adversity and learning from my mistakes I feel like my mental toughness and ability to strategize in any given situation has greatly increased. I do a lot of research when it comes to proper nutrition, injury prevention and workouts to improve speed and endurance. I’ve learned the importance of being knowledgeable of your sport and understanding the wear and tear that a runner puts their body through during each day of training and how to properly recover. I have learned that one cannot be a successful runner by merely running, it takes so much more. As I have become more serious about running these past two years, I have basically shaped by entire life around the sport. Although sometimes unavoidable with the territory of the sport, I know that anytime I feel even the slightest bit of pain or if something just doesn’t feel normal to take it easy and cut back the mileage. I look at running as a lifelong sport, so it isn’t worth it to push through one run to risk a lifetime of running. 

 

 

Last year, 19th at state. This year you looked to be one of the favorites in this race along with a couple of other girls. Did you think coming in this year could be your year?

 

After having such a successful track season, I knew that if I really persevered; I had what it takes to be on top. I went into this summer of training more focused than I had ever been before and I always put my full effort forth. I attained a lot of advice from Coach Butler and put that into consideration as I evaluated the proper paces for easy runs, workouts, and how to switch from the different phases to build up a base and then to taper off toward the end of the season to ensure the proper peaking time. Although I had to sacrifice a lot, such as last nights with friends, eating junk food, and waking up at the crack of dawn, it all proved to be worth the cost as the season began and my times began to drop tremendously from only a year ago. I went from a 19:15 PR at Footlocker in 2011 to an 18:08 2012 season best. This year was definitely looking to be my breakout year, and I was two races away from having my time to shine and attempting to claim my well-deserved State title.

An unfortunate injury occured after the district meet. It was one that would end the rest of your cross country season. How disappointing was that for you?

 

Unfortunately, life happens though and by pushing myself to my limits in training I was diagnosed with a stress fracture on my tibia lateral malleolus, typically due to overuse. As Cross Country runners with high mileage, we put a lot of stress on our bodies so it only makes sense that an injury was heading my way. Although disappointing, I am doing my best to stay positive and look forward to my future. There’s no doubt in my mind that I will be back stronger than ever for the track season as this setback has fueled by drive for success to an even greater extent. I look at this setback as a blessing in disguise which allows me to evaluate my training techniques and learn from what I might have been doing wrong. My intentions are to maintain my fitness and mental state through cross training, which also should speed up the healing process. I know that swimming especially is a great overall workout and I believe it will give me an edge returning from my injury. There is no setback that God doesn’t already have a comeback plan for so I have full faith that everything will end up how it should be in the end.

 

This happens but at the same time you have some good news as well.. You recently committed to the University of Florida. You told me Coach Spangler was positive about the injury. What did he say to you and how did that kind of ease your mind?

 

To call Coach Spangler, my potential future coach, and tell him that I was diagnosed with a stress fracture was one of the hardest phone calls that I’ve ever had to make. I had no idea what his reaction would be or what to expect so I was beyond relieved to find how understanding that he was about the injury. His thoughts about me didn’t change one bit and he still wanted me on the team as much as before. It is so inspiring to have someone like Coach Spangler to look up to, as he has experienced much adversity throughout his high school career, being an avid runner as well. Something that has stuck in my mind since the day we talked on the phone was when he said told me that this injury wasn’t a big deal, just a minor setback and when I get back out on that track and start running again to my full potential, I will look back to this day as if it were a blur, like it was nothing but a bump in the road that I had the strength the overcome. He encouraged me that the only reason runners get hurt is because they are pushing themselves to their limits day in and day out, they shape their entire lives around running and sometimes the body just needs a break and there’s absolutely nothing that can be done about it.

What schools did you visit in the recruiting process?

What other reasons led you to choose the Gators?

 

Coach Spangler’s positive attitude and ability to relate to us runners is one of the main reasons why I decided to choose to commit to UF. Along with the top notch coaching, the entire team was beyond welcoming and made me feel at home. I had the opportunity to spend time with the girls and to go out and socialize with them all on my visit and I felt like I fit in perfectly. It's safe to say that I was under the treatment of a rock star for the time frame of 48 hours. Being on campus for a relatively short amount of time, I was still able to experience the college atmosphere and see what being a student athlete at UF would entail. I was looking for a well-rounded school, with academics, athletics and a good environment and UF seemed to meet my requirements perfectly. The possibilities at UF are endless- from the one on one attention, to the wide range of facilities, I don’t know what more I could ask for upon making my college decision. 

Outdoor season is right around the corner and you should be cleared to run by March. What are you looking forward to the most about your final track season?

 

I have high goals for my track season, especially with it being my last. I will probably continue to double and do the 1600 and 3200, but put my main focus on the 3200. With my PR being 10:53 for the 3200, my intentions are to strive for 10:30 and to win my first state title. Although the 1600 isn’t my strongest race, I’m still planning on making a strong showing and working toward a sub 5 minute mile, which puts me in the running to place in among the top competitors. 

 

What are your goals for college and what are you looking forward to the most not just in running, but outside of it as well?

 

Words simply cannot explain how excited that I am to have the honor to attend a school as prestigious academically and athletically as the University of Florida and to be surrounded by such motivating and well-rounded individuals. Throughout my life, I’ve always attended a small school so when doing my college search that was a big aspect that I was looking for. Going into college, I’m definitely looking for a fresh start and change comes along with it. I’m most eager for the freedom that college consists of, although it will be a big transition from always having my parents around to help me out; I feel like I will really learn about living in the real world and grow a lot as a person in order to handle any challenges that come my way. I can’t wait to explore different majors, as I’m sure it will take much trial and error to pinpoint my desired field, but I’m looking forward to the people I meet along the way and the lessons learned that will all contribute to my future career.