We were somewhat rushed to start, and I only managed to get one stride out in, but I'm totally fine with that because it gave me less time to stress on the starting line. I started out pretty dang strong and quick and I felt amazing. Got in good positioning in the back middle of the front pack. Alex was right behind me and reconnected just a bit before the first mile marker. We were making good progress and using open areas in between people to pass and it was clutch. It's like our minds were connected and we were thinking the same thing. At like 1.5 I started to make more surges and got closer to the front. At mile 2 I was in like 10th, and Coach Holt told me to get 5 more guys. At first I was like dude man cmon 5 is a lot. But then, I realized dude why not, I felt freakin good so I definitely can. Pushed again and could see the leader and with about 800 to go I had a split second thought to start pushing super hard and go win. Looking back on the race, I know for A FACT that I could have accomplished that. I saved just a bit of energy and sat behind 5th and 6th place until before the hill, and I passed 6 right before and 5 right when I got on top. Almost caught up to 4 (who was totally dead) but he sprinted the last 10 meters and beat me by .03 seconds. Anyways, looking back on the race at the moment I thought about winning....
It's kind of interesting to me, how racing works. Coach Holt and most importantly, my mom, didn't have any doubts about how well I would perform. My mom said if I took top 5, I won't have to pay her back for this new video game I bought. I asked her to change it to top 10, because "that's more realistic." After arguing with her about it, she said that top 10 would suffice, but that doesn't mean I should settle. Coach Holt asked me earlier in the week if I was ready to run with "the big dogs." I told him heck yes, and I knew it was gonna be tough, but I have my goals and I want to be freaking good one day. I completely forgot about the conversation my mother and I had about the game, and I ended up taking 5th anywas. She told me that she knew I could do it, and honestly, I wish I would've seen it too. Because after the race I realized that with 800 left, I definitely should have pushed up and tried to win. I had enough energy after I finished that I realized that I would've still had the same kick, and I could have put that energy in earlier. It's' all about how much you believe in yourself, and not saying "I'm already in 7th, I'll just past these couple of guys' but instead saying, "I'm Carson freaking Horspool and I can do anything."
At Bob Firman, I'm not going to have any doubts.
I'm going to run with "The Big Dogs"
I'm going to beat "The Big Dogs"
Because I am a "Big Dog."
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