XC- Day 3

Phew, today was harder. Coach didn't say it would be easy, but he usually warns us when it's going to be hard. Actually, it was only about 2 miles, but there was a lot of uphill in those 2 miles... I was very proud of myself, though, because I managed to keep up with the fastest group. (This year our XC team is big enough to have distinct groups! We have almost 20 people! That's a big improvement over 6 members!) I was working harder than them to keep up, but I think it was worth it. We finished the 2 miles in about 16 minutes, give or take 30 seconds. I think Coach was a little surprised to see me not at the back for a change. Then we did 2 laps in the recently renamed Smelly Woods (5 laps in the woods=2 miles) and then worked out in the weight room.
The boys team practiced with another high school today, thank god. It's so crowded on our 115 acres with them! :) Still, they are kind of annoying. Their coach is in a situation that's the opposite of ours. He just watch all of his best runners, including the legendary Mr. Speedy, graduate last year and now... his team is a little disheartened. One girl, observing the boys team running victories said, "Look at their XC team.. It's kind of pathetic this year. They're not as good as they once were."
"Why? Do they usually have more people" I asked as I watched all 40 of them run past.
"No. They just usually have [Mr. Speedy]" Mr. Speedy is one of the best athletes our school has had in a long time. Actually, scratch that. He's the best athlete we've had. Ever. He's a mid-distance runner, which means that he can basically crush anyone in any race, because what he's really good at, he's #1 in the country at, and what he's ok at, he's better than everyone else in the state at. I don't know the specifics of his accomplishments, but based on what I saw at track meets, the Boys' team's strategy was as follows: Clone Mr. Speedy. Put him in every race. Watch him win every race. Bring home big, shiny trophy.
It was, overall, very successful. They were one of our school's few teams that we could talk about without being embarrassed. Our school newspaper couldn't run enough stories on Mr. Speedy. In fact, now that he's graduated, the people in the sports section don't know what to write about. "Girls' Volleyball Team Loses Another Game" or "Football Team Naps on Athletic Fields" wouldn't make very good headlines.
Mr. Speedy is now on a full scholarship at some beastly track university in the south, and his fellow former teammates are left abandoned, staring desolately into the Smelly Woods.