Regionals 2011- Aka Last Time Racing @ Belfast

Yesterday's Regional performance was definitely, after four years of high school running, a mental breakthrough for me. Before the race, the big motivator for my team was to have us live in the moment during the race; that at every point we were to assess our performances and ask ourselves if we were truly giving everything we could in that very second. I was in fifth for a better part of the race, and then with a little over 800m to go, Emma Wood, a good friend that I've gotten to know through running and skiing, made her move, and when she caught up to me, encouraged me to help her pass the girls in front of us. I took a deep breath, told myself it would be all over soon, and adjusted into a much quicker pace with her. We caught up to her teammate Kelly Lynch, and they ended up running stride for stride with me right behind them. On the last rise of the finishing hill, I remember a parent off to the side yelling "Two for one, Addie!" Seconds from the line, I ended up ahead, and finished 3rd. The kick that I threw in was like the moment in the last Harry Potter book (oh yes, I most definitely will relate myself to HP :) where his wand acts of it's own accord and sends a golden stream of spells at where it senses Voldemort is.. well all right, so the only connection is that I'm not sure where that final kick came from; somewhere from deep within. We also closed the gap immensely on the 2nd place finisher, Teresa Murphy (Brunswick), but I didn't realize it until seeing pictures of the race this morning, because I'd been so focused. Mentally, I believe that I won the day. And winning the race mentally is so tremendously important for me in order to expect improvement later on down the road. Also, several other important things to touch on... Maryam actually got her LPR in the MILE yesterday, breaking her mile record (by a second, I believe it was)! And Josh Horne broke his LPR by over two minutes yesterday, going from a low 21, and skipping both the 19's and the 20's to finish in the high 18's. Justin Tracy ended up 4th, and is currently ranked 12th in the state. Awesome job, guys!
KKNW, Addie

Me (Addie Cullenberg), Kelly Lynch and Emma Wood. Thanks so much guys :D