Water Hopping

If asked, I would say that I'm a pretty adventurous person. I like to try new and challenging things, especially if they have to do with athletics or being outdoors. Just this past Monday for our long run I spent many miles on winding, hilly, and muddy trails known as Upper Palisades. It was great! I had only been up there once before and that was in the fall with Coach Yarrow leading the way. This time I was running with two of my best friends and happened to be leading. It was really neat just exploring, hoping we didn't slide down the steep slope just wide of the narrow trail.

We came upon a farm where some beautiful, auburn colored horses were out in the pasture just hanging out. We saw a horse or deer skull that someone had planted so that it was sticking out a tree. And we saw an old, run-down, rusted car that had a gnome inside and a plastic mannequin leg sticking out the back window. That was a little freaky! Anyways, you get the point: I'm not afraid to get out and about, and try something new.

That brings me to track. This Saturday at our home Norse Relays meet I'm scheduled to run the steeplechase. I ran the steeplechase indoors and it went really well as I managed to hurdle all of the barriers. But now that we're outdoors, a new element is added...THE WATER PIT! So the past couple of weeks we've been practicing our technique for how we'll clear the water barrier and get through the water pit, but we've been using the sand pit in place of the water pit. Today, though, we actually get to go in the water pit. I'm excited, but a bit nervous.

After watching last weekend's steeplechase race at Central College I was able to see how much of a difference technique makes on the water pit. A lot of girls stepped on the barrier and then landed with 2 feet and a splash. It looked fun, but unfortunately it stopped all of their forward momentum. So my goal is to not land on 2 feet but only 1, and to keep running through the water. We'll see if that actually happens though. Most likely by the end of the race as fatigue sets in, my form and technique will not be that great. But I'll definitely try to stay away from planting a huge cannonball and splashing all of the water out of the pit!