Six Questions Before NXN


Destiny Collins

Destiny Collins is the nation's fastest high schooler over 3200m with her PR of 9:53.79. The senior at No. 2 ranked Great Oak High School has had an up-and-down season, but she knows how to turn up when it matters as she won the Division I California state cross country championship this past Saturday in the third-fastest time of the day (17:09.4). The performance came just one week after placing 37th at the CIF Southern Section Finals.

1. What was your hardest workout this season?


This is a tough one because we have different levels of hardness to me. Usually I would probably say 7,7,7s are the hardest workout but the hardest workout this season to me was 1000, 800, 600, 400, 200 and we did this workout right before CIF SS Finals. I think this workout was so hard because we usually run workouts closer to race pace but this workout was more of a track workout and after the 600 is when you could really start to feel the lactic acid. Not only that but as it got faster the rest got shorter! It was a tough one but I felt so accomplished after and so in a way it was also my favorite workout of the season. This is the first year we ever did a few workouts on the track so it was a nice change.

2. What was your team's (or your own) biggest challenge this season?


The biggest challenge for the team I believe was sometimes getting excited for the smaller meets we would attend. The goal for our team is to win state and give it all we got at nationals and so  sometimes it was hard for us to get excited for CIF SS Finals or Inland Empire Championships when we have a bigger race down the line. But we still did an amazing job at running well at those races and winning.

The biggest challenge for me was and still is battling shin splints. I used to wonder why people would complain about shin splints just thinking the pain was bearable and the ones complaining were just being wimps but now I see what others mean/ feel when they say they have shin splints. Shin splints are very painful and it's an annoying pain that just won't go away and the only way for it to heal is too take time off which is hard when you have big goals of winning state and nationals. Some days and races I let the shin splints get the better side of me and that was evident at CIF SS Finals when I placed 37th in my race but I'm really happy that I was able to not worry about the pain and just run through it at state which allowed me to win my first individual state title and lead my team to our 4th straight team title! I hope I can do the same thing again this Saturday at NXN!

3. How do you balance enjoying the nationals experience while still focusing on competing?

It's really easy to get caught up in the event and not focus on the race but for my team to stay focused we have our fun on Thursday! We enjoy getting the gear and the opening ceremonies and meeting people but Friday, we still do enjoy ourselves but we aren't bouncing off the walls. We begin to get more focused and mellow because we know why we are here and what we came to do. We came for the business aspect. All the real fun can happen afterwards when we finish what needs to get done!

4. How do you manage peaking for the state meet vs. peaking for regionals/nationals?


In the years past we would peak for state and then go to nationals but the problem was by that time we already accomplished what we wanted, the mileage had gone down, the focus was gone, and we were sort of just going to have fun. But now since we see we can compete nationally we peak for Nike Cross Nationals. Peaking for nationals means still getting the work done which means not being fresh for CIF SS Finals. It also means having a heavier load at the beginning of state week so for nationals week we can lessen the mileage compared to state week the week of nationals. Now we still get a good work load in Monday-Wednesday and then we go very light Thursday and Friday so we are ready to rock and roll on Saturday!

5. If you could be a Voodoo Donut, what kind would you be and why?


This is a tough question :) If I could be any voodoo donut, I would either be a chocolate bar donut because a classic donut is very very good or I'd be the dirt donut because I love Love LOVE OREOS! 

6. Would you rather fight one horse-sized duck or one hundred duck-sized horses?


This is a very strange question but I would fight the one horse sized duck. Why because 1 on 1 seems easier than 1 vs 100. Ducks are a pretty nice size and plus who knows. Maybe instead of fighting this horse sized duck, I could somehow force the duck to act like a horse and give me rides. So basically I would try to tame the duck so it would become my "horse"... I mean I've always wanted a horse!