In Her Own Words: Claire Crosby- The Countdown Begins

The count down begins! The first cross-country meet for the 2015 season is a little over a week away. The season will officially start with the John Curtis meet at City Park followed by the Bayou Boogie meet at Highland Park- one of the most anticipated courses of this season.

Monday started with a threshold run and 200's on the track for some leg turn over. Tuesday was a recovery day. However, Wednesday was plagued with afternoon thunderstorms preventing us from going to one of my teammate’s horse farms to run the hidden hills of Louisiana. But the thunder and lighting didn’t stop me- I hit the treadmill and turned up the incline to try to get the same effect.

Needless to say, it is still HOT in Louisiana - it was so hot that my head is usually submerged in the ice bath at the end of practice. It is the only way to escape the heat for a couple of seconds. The week closed with another recovery day on Thursday and a track workout on Friday.

All day Saturday, my teammates and I put on the annual Mandeville High cross-country car cash. Personally, I would say our car washing skills are up to par with our running skills. Despite the fact that I was soaked head to toe within the first five minutes, the car wash helped bond the whole team- both girls and boys. From donuts to free pizza to record breaking sales, Saturday was simply fun and successful.

The girl's team wrapped up the weekend with a Sunday morning run on the lakefront. After we finished- well before the sun was at its peak- all 19 of us went back to my house to eat breakfast. My mom kindly served eggs, pancakes, fruit and biscuits. Most would be shock by how much distance girls can eat!

As we completed another week of training, my team and I have high expectations for the first meet. Everyone, including myself, wants all the hard work to pay off. Hopefully, this final push before the first meet will help my team and I reach our potential for the start of this XC season. It sure would be nice for a cool snap to hit just about now!

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