My running began in 2005 at Oconee County Middle School. I
consider the origin two-part, one part in disobedience to my father’s concerns
about my high arched feet, the other part for a boy I thought was cute. My
nanny claims otherwise, stating I insisted that she time me run a loop around
the backyard of my childhood home. Then there was the fact I was beating all
the swimmers in our ~1.5 mile dry land warm-up. Either way, my dad became my
biggest fan and the boy was soon forgotten. I beat all the girls and my crush
in an 800m time trial, which had an opposite-than-intended effect on him, as I
bragged about my faster time.
I went on to break the middle school P.E. mile record,
running a 5:49. Then I joined the Oconee County High School cross country team,
finishing the 3A GHSA Cross Country State Championship 5k race in 20:16, good
enough for 4th place. In spring of my freshman year I went out for track,
placing 5th in 2:26 and 5:23 in the 800m and 1600m at the 3A State
Meet. In addition to three experienced female coaches, I was lucky to have
two female senior role models to run with at practice and in races. One was
much faster than me and one slightly slower but much more experienced.
The miles piled up and the years flew by. I made long-lasting memories and friendships with fellow teammates, two in particular. I accredit these deep friendships to our shared devotion to the training lifestyle. When we weren’t running, we were in the pool swimming, competing in both winter high school and summer league swim meets.
Over the course of high school, the running competition improved and I never placed higher than 4th at XC state in my division, despite my times steadily improving. My best performance was finishing in the top 30 in a best of 18:07 at Foot Locker South Regionals my senior year (2009). In contrast to cross country, sophomore year was my breakout year in track. During this season I won the 3A 800m in a PR of 2:17 and placed 3rd in the 1600m with a 5:07. Junior and senior year I suffered minor injuries, tweaking my back and experiencing hip/psoas pain, while battling the fatigue and dehydration associated with taking Accutane. However, I still managed to sign with UGA on a partial scholarship. I hoped the next chapter of my life would bring some real fitness gains!
To be continued.
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