Friday, April 2, 2010

Enjoying the Ride :)

Hello!

It has been WAY too long since I last wrote an entry in this thing - and a lot has happened since my last entry, that's for sure!

Exactly one week later, I am STILL on a high about my 10K run at Stanford. I ran a 35:21. It was a 27 second PR, it was my first time ever running an automatic qualifying time, and I was the only DIII runner in the field. It was the best race I have ever ran, period. My whole family was there (including my Grandma!) to witness it, which made it even more of an incredible experience. It was about 53 degrees and there was absolutely NO wind. Couldn't have asked for more perfect conditions. Everything about the night was amazing. The whole trip was an absolute blast.

Last Friday I got to witness a bit of history as well in the 10K heat before me. Lisa Koll of Iowa State ran a 31:18 to break Sally Kipyego's collegiate record! I could hear the announcer over the loud speaker while I was warming up, giving as close to a play-by-play as you can get in the sport of track and field. It was awesome to listen to him get so fired up as she got closer and closer to finishing and closer and closer to breaking the record. She ran that 31:18 absolutely all by herself, which makes it even more amazing! Needless to say, it gave me added inspiration/motivation for my race!

I think what is best about the race at Stanford is the confidence I gained coming out of it. I knew I could run faster than 35:48, but I also was coming off a somewhat disappointing Indoor season in which I was unable to break the 17 minute mark in the 5K and ended up in a worse position that at Indoor Nationals the previous year. I luckily still came away with All-American honors (placed 8th in 17:11), but honestly I just didn't run the way I wanted to. The Stanford race was everything I wanted and MORE. It's like it gave me a whole new slate. My hard work is going to continue to pay off and I know there are no limits to my improvement as a runner. I think I knew that all along, it's just that this race re-affirmed it for me. Now, my Coach and I have full faith in one another moving forward. It's going to be a GREAT outdoor season!! I am so overjoyed for it to begin the way it did and I can't wait for the coming months to finish out my track career running the best I ever have :)

During the course of the indoor season, I lost my beloved Grandpa George. He passed away on the final day of my Indoor Conference meet. We were able to gather as a family (5 kids and 15 grandchildren!) and just being together, reminiscing about what my Grandpa loved (the Badgers, motorhoming, and good Dean's milk) made us smile and be grateful that such a kind, gentle man was such a huge part of all our lives. We will without a doubt miss him so very much, but we know he is always looking down on all of us, and of course Heaven is serving him good Dean's milk, so he's doing just fine. :)

I thought about my Grandpa George in the few seconds before I started my 10K at Stanford, and I know he was there with me through that race. I know he was smiling at his "Jenny Boo" as I crossed the finishing line with a huge smile on my face.

Even though my Indoor Nationals experience was a bit of a disappointment, for my teammate, Emily Schudrowitz, it was a dream come true! She ended up WINNING the 800 meter Indoor title in a school-record 2:09.38!!! It was won by a St. Norbert runner for the 2nd consecutive year, as Ashley Graybill won it in 2:09.95 last March! According to my Coach, it's the first time one school has ever won back-to-back titles in an event with a different runner. It was an incredible race, and after being injured most of last season, it's truly incredible that Em was able to work her way back and WIN a National title. She's amazing and I'm so thankful/honored to have her as a teammate! My other teammate, Dann Schneider, also was an All-American for the 2nd straight year in the 400m dash, so we did manage to come away from DePauw with SNC 3 for 3 All-Americans! And I am blessed to be able to say I am now a 7-time All-American.

After Indoor Nationals, 20 of us from the team headed to San Diego for a training trip! It was perfect weather, as it always seems to be in San Diego -- 72 degrees and perfectly sunny! It's basically the most perfect running weather you could ever ask for. I'm not sure how people can live there with it being the same just about 365 days of the year, but I know there's obviously plenty of people that like that! It's a great vacation spot, that's for sure. We had a ton of fun and my teammates raced well at the Point Loma Nazarene University Invite. Their track was right along the ocean!!!

I came back that Saturday of the meet and caught up on some school work, went to classes Monday and Tuesday, and then flew out to San Francisco with our assistant Coach, Kristen, on that Wednesday! I still can't believe the Stanford meet was exactly one week ago today. Seems more like a month or two ago. It was such an incredible night - seems like it's frozen in time, I guess!

So... here I am, back from California, sitting at home in Delavan, WI on Easter Break. I write that because I have woken up in so many different places lately I have had to remind myself exactly where I am! :)

It has been an absolutely crazy ride this past month or so, that's for sure. But, with the Stanford race behind me, I see nothing but sunshine and blue skies ahead for this outdoor season! I'll have a couple tune-up meets to run some "speed work" (aka 1,500's and 800's) and then my next big race will be the 5K at the Gina Relays on the 23rd of April. Outdoor Nationals aren't until May 27-29th so while it's awesome to already be automatically qualified, I still have a lot I want to accomplish before then! Time to re-set a few more school records, help my team to their best finish ever at Outdoor Conference, and qualify for a couple more events at Nationals.

This weekend will be great to relax and rest up and spend time with my family. I always love coming home.

And while some parts of the past couple months have been bumpy, I've learned to take the bad with the good, smile and laugh often, and overall just ENJOY THE RIDE.

:)

Some of my favorite quotes about LIVING EACH DAY TO ITS FULLEST... something I have really learned more than ever these past few months:

"Cherish your yesterdays; dream your tomorrows; but live your todays!"

"We only got 86,400 seconds in a day to
Turn it all around or to throw it all away
We gotta tell them that we love them
While we got the chance to say
Gotta live like we're dying..." (from Kris Allen's "Live Like We're Dying"

"When an opportunity knocks, you have to answer the door..."

"Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die today." ~James Dean

And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years. ~Abraham Lincoln


and one of my most favorite songs ever... "I Was Here" by Lady Antebellum:

I want to do something that matters,
say something different,
something that sets to whole world on its ear.
I want to do something better,
with the time I've been given.
and I want to try to touch a few hearts in this life.
leave nothing less than something that says,
I was here."

So, what have you done to make a difference in this world? Find your passion and get out there and live each day to its fullest.

I have learned you can't take ANYTHING for granted in this life, so live, laugh, and love and as I said, enjoy the ride.

Till next time...
~Jenny

**For pictures of my amazing race at Stanford, as well as pictures from my vacation in San Diego AND Indoor Nationals, visit http://scherer.smugmug.com OR my Facebook page! http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=59002851

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