Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Cross Country Season

Recently, my sister and I made it to the national competition in New Mexico for cross country. The competition in New Mexico had over 3,000 competitors from all over our nation representing their state.  My sister and I competed on the California Comets team which had qualifying meets to make this special team. There were 5 qualifying meets and top eight became part of this separate team. Michael also participated in the qualifying meets but came in 9th overall therefore prohibiting him from competing with the California Comets team. My sister and I trained everyday in the morning or at our night practices to get ready for the national competition. Our coaches, coach Kevin and coach Cathleen were very supportive and trained us very well!

Racing 

At the start line





My start line

Hannahs start line
Hannah and coach kevin


Running to the finish!



Both Hannah and I took fifth at our championship race



Our first qualifying meet for New Mexico was in Arcadia on an all grass course. This event was difficult as we were not prepared to run on grass as our team practiced in the mountains.








Hannah and I both made it on to the second qualifying meet in Las Vegas. We drove for 6 hours to get to Las Vegas. It was a great trip as we had a chance to walk around on the strip and see a new city.  In Las Vegas, we saw a fountain show outside the Belagio Hotel which was gorgeous! The next morning, we competed in Las Vegas and once again, we qualified on to New Mexico. I placed third on my team and Hannah placed 7th on her team.

At Las Vegas


Enjoying the beautiful fountain


Hannah and her teammates

Playing on the slide in Las Vegas







After this meet, we had two weeks to train for our national competition. Hannah and I worked extra hard during practiced and it payed off! A few days ago, we flew out to New Mexico. That day, it was raining which created a muddy wet course. It was 30 degrees outside and snowing ten miles away. Hannah and I were both freezing going into the race and after the race. We both ran in leggings, long sleeve shirts, and mittens, yet our fingers and toes still froze during the race!  I placed 168 out of 400 and Hannah placed 136 out of 400 competitors in our age division.  I placed third on my team and Hannah placed sixth on her team.



Gorgeous snowy mountains





The exciting part of the journey was being able to ride back on a train. While on the train, we stopped in 8 locations and at 3 of them, we were able to see snow. Hannah and I made snowballs that we later threw at each other. Our cross country experience was really exciting with many events that I will never forget!




Getting ready to board the train



Playing in the snow during a break

2 comments:

  1. Dear Miriam,
    I think it is amazing how you and your sister made it to the National Competition in New Mexico! You must be an incredible runner. You must have had an amazing time on your journey. Your trip seems so fun. It is awesome how you could run that fast. When did you start doing cross country?
    Sincerely,
    Sarah

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. @Sarah,

      Thank you for leaving me a comment! The New Mexico running trip was a wonderful experience, and I really enjoyed riding the train back home. I started running track and cross country when I was 6 years old, and I know run on the high school team. Running is a great sport, and I really enjoy the races and meeting new friends during practice. What after school activity are you in?

      From,
      Miriam

      Delete

♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥

Steps to Comment:

1. Write your comment in the box below. Please proofread your comment for spelling, grammar, punctuation, and capitalization.

2. Choose an identity. (If you have a gmail account, use it. If not, simply choose "Anonymous".)

3. Click "Publish your Comment". You may preview your comment before publishing if you'd like.

♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥