MileSplit XC Journals 2011
Meet Erin Finn, Foot Locker finalist from West Bloomfield MI. Erin will be sending in a journal several times over the course of the 2011 season to update you on her running and the life of an elite HS runner. Enjoy!
Hello all! My name is Erin Finn and I love to run. I am a member of the West Bloomfield (Michigan) High School Cross Country team. I am currently a junior and have lived sixteen unforgettable years. Many people have asked me when I started running. An appropriate answer wouldn’t be “seventh grade cross country” or “in high school” for me; actually, that question probably isn’t even suitable to ask me! In actuality, I didn’t start running; I was born running. My mom recalls that as soon as I learned to walk, I ran. I played soccer in elementary school, but was barely an acceptable player because I was the only one who would want to chase the ball after it had been kicked away! In gymnastics, I would always trot around in the warm-up longer than any of the girls wanted. When middle school rolled around, I tried other sports, like volleyball, but could barely serve the ball over the net. I had absolutely no hand-eye coordination! So, in seventh grade, I gave cross country a try. Immediately I knew that I had found what I had wanted to do. I realized that God had blessed me with a talent, and I wanted to use it.
My freshman year, however, it seemed that all of my dreams came to a crashing halt. With a new rigorous high school training schedule, I couldn’t eat enough to maintain a healthy weight. I lost way too much weight, consequently losing a lot of power. By the time that I realized that something was wrong, it was too late. A stress fracture in my left tibia thwarted any more running. I felt completely lost; I didn’t know what to do. By that time I had identified myself as a runner, and only a runner. Without running, I didn’t know what to do. I suffered a lot during the process of healing of my tibia. This, however, allowed me to heal in another way; I found out that I was an avid student and loved to learn, I was a daughter, granddaughter, cousin, and sister with a loving family, I was a reader, I was God’s disciple, and I was much more. When another stress fracture, this time in my right femoral neck (hip), arrived and barred my track season before it began, I was disheartened, but not lost. I continued to try to eat right and prepare myself for the next cross country season. My sophomore year was then filled with many blessings, ranging from both cross country and track nationals and treasured time spent with running friends. I thank God everyday for bringing me out of the sadness that I resided in at the opening of my freshman year.
Finally, summer 2011 arrived. I spent it healthy and training for the upcoming cross country season, enjoying every moment of it. As summer passed, anticipation for the season built. Excitement filled me; I wanted to see where I could go. Would I be able to run faster than last year? Would I get hurt? I am proud to say that I have a new PR, but only time will tell if I get hurt. I am trying to do everything I can to prevent injury, but I know that sometimes injuries are just bad luck. If I do happen to get hurt, I’ll just remember that I have more than running to hold on to.
Throughout the summer, my team hung out and trained hard. Our girls’ cross country team, which had only three, sometimes four, girls last season, blossomed to encompass over ten members! The boys’ teams’ prospects were also better than ever, with hopes of making it to the state meet. We tried hard not to let any of this excitement phase us, though, still playing ultimate Frisbee after practice when we weren’t too tired to move and going to places like Buffalo Wild Wings and Zap Zone (a laser tag place). We had our famous spaghetti dinners before every meet (where we played more ultimate Frisbee as well as volleyball – remember how I said that I have no coordination), too. Everything, even with occasional frustrations at practice, seemed to be going perfectly.
This history now brings us to today! The WBCC team recently competed in the Spartan Invite, where most of my teammates and I all ran PRs! My friend Shannon Osika, a Foot Locker alumnus, competed in the college race and placed very well for a college freshman. I caught up with my cousin, Shannon Flynn, and got to know Hannah and Haley Meier better (Hannah and Haley are both All-American milers; they are also incredibly sweet!). The meet was amazing. I am crazy about the entire cross country atmosphere, and this meet was the epitome of it. I can’t wait for my next race!
Well, that’s all for now! I hope that you enjoyed my first journal entry! I have to get to work on more homework (I can’t believe that I thought that I would want to take all of the classes that I am enrolled in and torture myself so!). Have a wonderful day!
My teammates Megan Eiswerth and Zoe Kaufman (I’m in the middle) at the start line of the Spartan Invite! We were really nervous! My coach reminded me that I run for fun, so that helped me to get excited.
This is me running at the Spartan Invite. Notice my uniform; West Bloomfield High School is officially a Nike sponsored school! A couple of the guys on my team and I got to help design the uniforms. It was so cool! Our old uniforms were really old, so the change was needed.
Summer training! The WBCC team trained all summer at various locations, such as one of our district’s middle school.
