This fall, we'll be viewing the New York Cross Country Season through the eyes of its' competitors. We've asked one girl and one boys to blog about their season. Through the triumphs and tribulations of training, racing, and everything in between, you'll be able to read what it's like to run in the Empire State.
For the girls, Sam Peterman, a senior at Sweet Home High School, will be blogging for us. Sam is a Top 5 returner for Class B at the New York State Meet, looking to improve on last year's performance. She runs in Section 6, and will be one of the top athletes across any classification in the Buffalo area. Read about her journey below.
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Hi everyone! My name is Sam Peterman and I run for Sweet Home High School! My life is pretty simple with my day consisting of eating, sleeping, running, watching TV, or doing homework. It may sound a little boring but I wouldn't trade it for the world! As some of you may know I have a medical condition called neurocardiogenic syncope or NCS for short. Basically what happens is when I am pushing my body to its limit, such as running a race or a very difficult workout, my blood pressure drops causing me to pass out. There are no long term effects from it, and I have been cleared to run by the best doctors in the Buffalo area. I am very grateful that I have my family and my coaches to help me run with it. They have been my biggest supporters and I'm not sure what I would do without them.
This summer has been full of hard work, a lot of sweat, and soreness in my legs. Yet, it has also been very exciting as I am going into my senior year with many goals to achieve. Training wise, I am continuing to build my base, yet also getting in some tempos and hill workouts (still thankful that the state course is nowhere near as hilly as last year!). I also have been getting in many doubles throughout this summer with either cross training for an hour or running for 30 minutes at night. This summer I have really been trying to hit the paces my coach gives me so I can do the correct type of workout. During tempos I've been running at 6:15 pace so I can get a lactate threshold workout in. Pacing is definitely not my forte (I tend to start too fast in tempos), so it's been a big focus to hit that pace so I won't go into an anaerobic workout. We save the anaerobic days for some other "fun" workouts. On the non-workout days I go for an easy hour run where I normally run between 7-8 miles. I love going by time because I am able to run at my own pace based on the way my body feels that day rather than rushing through a 7 mile run just to get it done. Whenever I practice with the team at school, after we are done running we go into the weight room and lift. I found this to be very helpful in preventing injuries, and honestly I have a lot of fun with it!
Another huge part of my training is seeing a sports psychologist. I go to see Shannon Walton, and she has helped me improve mentally over the past year that I have been meeting with her. I either meet up or Skype with her, and we talk about controlling my nerves before a race, running ques (words I write on my hand that I tell myself through a race/workout), and keeping my confidence level steady. Those are just a few things we talk about, and mentally I am such a different runner than I was a year before.
Overall summer training has been going great and I can't wait to start racing again!
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