From running log:
Cross country practice - intrasquad race. Ran 0.5 mile warmup, 3 mile race, and 0.3 mile cooldown (3.8 miles total). It was hot, dry, sunny, 83F. I ran very well despite very slightly sore back. I started last in the handicapped race, 6:55 behind the first starter. I finished in 2nd, passing everyone except for Shannon Sophie from the women's team, who started 2:40 ahead of me. I beat Ben and he had a minute head-start. I won the best time award (big wow!). I think we can do well at the RC invite on Saturday. Team meeting tomorrow.
30 years later:
How does one reconcile the glee of storming past all of one's teammates with the guilt of, well, storming past all of one's teammates? Except for Shannon, who was one tough cookie, I was able to catch and pass everyone. I tried to be as supportive as I could, shouting encouragement to each boy and girl whom I passed along the course. But I'm fairly certain that my feeble cheerleading that was little consolation to them for the fact that, despite a significant head start, they could not finish ahead of me. Sorry, guys ... but that's running. It's simple: the faster, the better.
I remember coming into the last 500 yards or so and seeing Shannon just up ahead. She glanced back and saw me, then I could see that she immediately accelerated to a full-blown kick. I pushed the pace briefly too, but it was clear that I would not catch her, so I let up again after about 10 seconds. She ran a great race, and ended up just under 10 seconds ahead of me and first across the line.
Of course, this event was little more than a sort of scrimmage, a chance to run very hard and see where we stood. It's interesting (well, sort of) that I didn't bother to record my time on the course that day. It demonstrates that my goals were elsewhere, this was just for fun.
The final reference to "team meeting tomorrow" was about a gathering of the boy's team, without coaches, to talk about where we were and what was coming next. As you will recall, the prior year our squad had splintered due to intra-team rivalries, and that led to stress that ultimately helped spoil the season. I called this team meeting as part of my approach to keep us all on the same page, focused on what mattered, and to make sure that any greivances or issues could be ironed out early before they spread like an infection. I spent my study hall on this day with Nellie and Moose, writing up some notes and thinking about what to say to everyone. I was no boy scout, but I did accept their famous "be prepared" motto.
Our coaches prepared home made awards for our intrasquad race, here's mine:
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