The T-Shirt Quest

Hello Everyone!

It's been awhile since my last post. Time flies no matter what you're doing, and I guess I've been doing a lot--including trying to figure out what to blog about. I talked with my mom and sisters, I shared my thought with some of my friends--and I realized that most people write about what they enjoy. I still really enjoy running, so I decided to continue posting about that. 

I am an "Upperclassman" now

In early September, my cross country coach sat the team down for a pre-race meeting. At some point in the meeting, he asked if any of the upperclassmen had advice for the younger runners. We were all a bit nervous about the race tomorrow, and it always helped to get good advice/encouragement from other teammates. I waited expectantly for one of the upperclassmen to say something deep and profound to lift the team's spirits. Then I realized that I was one the upperclassmen that he was talking about. Unbeknownst to me, I had arrived at team leadership status along with my teammate and friend, Elle. 

Even though I am a junior in college, I have to remind myself that I am not a freshman anymore. It was humbling to realize that people wanted to have my advice about racing. 

I always try to enjoy each race I run. It is such a gift to be able to run and even compete in college. I strive to give my thanks and praise to God by doing my best in every competition. That is the encouragement that I enjoyed giving before races. 

A Reason to Race

I was excited and nervous about the 2019 cross country season. I had competed with the Blue Mountain College Lady Toppers for two season, and I wanted to find a reason to run. Even though I had plenty of good reasons to run as fast as I could at each meet, I wanted something more--something tangible. I wanted something to remember each race by. Then, it hit me...

At most of the cross country meets we would compete at, the top 10-25 finishers of each race would receive a t-shirt. Prior to this season, I rarely was able to get a t-shirt (but I was super-stoked about the ones that I got). 

This season, my third season, I decided to run my hardest to receive a t-shirt at every meet.

I knew that there would be multiple benefits to getting t-shirts after each race. First, if I placed high enough for a t-shirt, I would place well for team scoring. Second, I needed some new t-shirts to replace the ones that I had worn out. Finally, I knew running for t-shirts would make a decent story to share with friends. 

T-shirt #1 (Mississippi College Season Opener)

I was super-excited about my first t-shirt

The first meet was September 1. I'm pretty sure it was 105 degrees on the starting line. We only had to race a 4k (which is 2.5 miles), but after the first mile--I was almost cooked. Thankfully, at that point, I only had a mile and a half left instead of over two miles, and God gave me the mental strength to keep running hard. I crossed the finish line in 8th place, and received a shirt for placing in the top 15. Three of my teammates also got t-shirts, which was super cool. The best part was that we won the meet! Praise the LORD!

T-shirt #2 (Austin Peay Cross Country Festival)

This race was a little over four hours away in Clarksville, TN. Prior to this race, I learned that only the top 10 runners would get a t-shirt. My teammates and I had been training hard over the past two weeks, and I knew we would perform well as a team and also individually. The question was, "Would I be able to get a t-shirt?"

Austin Peay University T-shirt Squad

My racing strategy was pretty bad--I pretty much sprinted the race until I couldn't. The last half of the race was pretty rough. Nevertheless, I finished sixth and got a beautiful red t-shirt. I was so excited. My teammate, Elle, received one as well, and we placed second as a team. It was a pretty great day!

T-shirt #3 (JSU Foothills Invitational)

The team has competed at this meet for three years straight (including this year), and it has always been competitive. As a sophomore, I did not perform to my liking, and I was a little nervous about how I would do this year. I did not think a t-shirt was in sight for this race. The top 25 would get t-shirts, and the 25th finisher was usually well under 20 minutes for a 5k.

As I waited for the men's 8k race to finish up, I moped about how miserable I felt. I knew I was catching a cold (or some other deathly illness--I'm so dramatic). I was complaining about it to God during my pre-race preparation, and I realized that I could choose to enjoy the race no matter how good or bad I felt. God would give me the strength to finish the race. I had to choose what my attitude would be between the starting line and the finish line: an attitude of joy and gratefulness or an attitude of fear and disgust. I decided to choose joy and gratefulness regardless of the circumstances. 

The race went really well, and I obtained my third t-shirt of the season--a camouflaged t-shirt. I was so proud of it. I placed 20th and ran a 19:29 5k. The team also placed 5th out of 21 teams!

T-shirt #4 (Mississippi College Invitational)

My final t-shirt of the season (#4)

This was the last meet before the conference championships, and the temperature was finally getting bearable. We would be running a 6k, something I had never done before, and I was excited to see what I could do. I had to ask some of my friends who had already run a 6k for advice, and by the time I got to the starting line I knew what I was going to do: start racing after 3k (three kilometers) of the race.
 For the first 3k of the race I tried not to think. Thinking takes a lot of energy, and I wanted to save some energy for the other half of the race. My coach told me that I was 22nd after about 10 minutes of racing, and I knew I would have to kick it in to get the desired t-shirt. The top 20 runners would be receiving a beautiful white t-shirt.
I finished the race in 16th place and ran a 23:37. I was pretty stoked and tired.

The Moral of the Story
Racing for t-shirts was a cool way to make cross country season more fun. It is easy for me to psych myself out before a race by over-strategizing, over-thinking, and worrying about how painful the race is going to feel. Giving myself a tangible and goofy goal put things in perspective. It was a great cross country season. I am so thankful God blessed me with some great performances and great teammates to compete with.

Thanks for reading my blog! Please comment about some cool, goofy goals that you have set for yourself!


Philippians 4:6-7
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Bible Gateway, NIV)."