Hi, fellow runners! My name is Charlie McIntyre, and I am a senior at Parkway Central High School. Currently, I am in the middle on a pretty tough training block to ensure that I don't peak too early and to make sure I am running my best at the end of the season when it matters! Each race that I am doing, I am trying to get a benefit out of it to improve on some of my racing weaknesses. This past weekend I ran at the Forest Park Festival and placed 6th. If you ran it, you know how muddy it was! That was just something you can't prepare for racing in those conditions. Running through the mud was very fatiguing, and I struggled that third mile. With some good and smart training, I think that is something I can improve on. I believe the race experience was a good stepping stone to where I want to be at the end of the year.
Understandably, I have to keep working hard and do the little things to ensure getting there! The last two years I have focused on actually taking care of my body and making sure that everything I do will have a positive impact on it. As bad as some of the ice baths are, they are worth it! In a couple of weeks, I will be heading down to Arkansas for the Chili Pepper Cross Country Festival!
I am very excited to be heading out of the state and racing against some of the best runners in the Midwest. My coaches approached me and asked if there were any big meets that I would be interested in going to. Chili Pepper seemed like the perfect fit with where it was in the season and what I am doing for training. It will be an exciting race and will be inspiring to watch all of the college races before me too! Hopefully, there will be some fast times there! I am hoping after Chili Pepper that I feel confident going into the state series! After that, it is only a couple hard training weeks away from the State Championship! I feel confident with where I am at and with what still needs to be done. Best of luck to you guys with your races coming up!
Thanks, everyone!
Charlie McIntyre