Former Xavier College Prep runner Jessica Tonn will be writing a weekly blog (schedule permitting) for Arizona Milesplit. While at Xavier Jessica won 2 Cross Country State Titles and 10 Track and Field State Titles winning the 1600 and the 3200 all four years. Jessica also qualified for Foot Locker Nationals all four years finishing with a top 10 finish her junior year.
Jessica holds the Arizona freshman (10:37.23) and sophomore (10:30.23) record in the 3200 and the sophomore record in the 1600 (4:50.42) which is also an Arizona All Time #2 mark. She also has the Arizona #3 all time mark of 10:25.85 in the 3200 and ran a 10:24.47 for 2 miles.
Check back weekly to read JTonn's Milesplit Blog!!
High School Track PR's : College Track PR's
1600: 4:50.42 1500: 4:23.64 (outdoor)
3200: 10:25.85 3,000: 9:10.16 (indoor)
800: 2:14.70 5,000: 15:54.90 (outdoor)
2 Mile: 10:24.57 10,000: 34:41.68 (outdoor)
BLOG ENTRY #3
Being a spectator…
As I reflect upon my blog post from last week, I am trying to take my own advice in that as long as I am a member of the team, I have an important role. But, it is safe to say that I am in an awkward spot right now. I am currently redshirting, taking Indoor season off, as this allows me to get a great block of training in and also allowing me to compete during a fifth year for both Indoor and Outdoor in 2015-16. This past weekend my team traveled to Seattle, Washington and opened up in the Husky Preview for the first meet of this Indoor season. This marks the first time I haven’t traveled with my team in almost three years, which just felt down right bizarre.
To say they totally knocked it out of the park in terms of the way they competed would be an understatement. As I huddled around my laptop with my other teammates who remained on campus, we watched as everyone in a Stanford jersey tore it up right and left. Literally, every race and field event that we watched left us inspired because everywhere the camera feed turned there was a Stanford jersey running and jumping to the lead and competing with total toughness. In our team meeting last night our coach attempted to name off some of the outstanding performances this past weekend but he even said it would be impossible to do without naming everyone who had traveled and competed. That is so cool.
With every start of a race I experienced conflicting emotions; it pained me not to be on the starting line as each gun went off but I was so excited to see what each of my teammates could do in between each start and finish line. As I reflect upon this weekend and this past week I have come to realize, even more so now that I am not traveling, that your role as a team member will always fluctuate because with each season, there are roles that open up and roles that are filled by various people. In cross country my role on the team was well defined and I was confident in what role I was to fill – I was supposed to be a leader both in practice and on the cross country course. Now, as we transition into Indoor season, yes, I must try to remain a leader, but in a different capacity than last season.
The beauty of a team is that it is ever evolving; it is never stagnant. It is the nature of our sport that we get banged up here and there and that we don’t compete every season because our bodies just couldn’t possibly train and compete at 100% day in and day out. So, we are forced to and must always adapt. If you take a season off or experience a little bump in the road, that is your body telling you that you are about to or that you have crossed that fine line that we skillfully test with each hard effort and everyday of training we put under our belt. So, we tend to our bodies and adapt to the situation. Of course this is easier said than done; I don’t know about you guys, but when I can’t compete for my team, or when I have to take time off, I feel like I am letting the team down in some way. But I’m really not, and this is why…
This is actually when your role as a team member is just as important as when you are wearing your racing or competition singlet. This is the time that you have to heal physically and come to terms with your situation mentally so you can recover and train in order to compete in the upcoming season(s). When you are injured or when you are redshirting it can be hard to find motivation to cross-train or train when your team is away competing. But instead, use this time to reflect upon how much it pains you not to be out on the track or cross course and what you would give to be competing alongside your teammates.
While I’m not competing, my goal this season is to be the best possible training partner and cheerleader for my teammates both in practice and while they are competing. Although it flat out sucks to be on the sideline, it would be even worse to not be a part of this team. Sometimes, our time away from competition and training really sheds light on and illuminates the reason(s) why you love this sport – the sense of camaraderie, the miles you put in alongside the teammates you love, the racing, and the perfect and beautiful storm you get when you combine all these elements.
I have been blessed with a relatively healthy body during my time here at Stanford, so to say I understand what you are going through and how you may feel when facing an injury wouldn’t be 100% justified on my part. But, what I can say is that there is a reason that you haven’t given up and that you keep fighting through that bump or those multiple bumps in the road – you just love doing what you do, and you love doing it with the people above and below your name on your team roster. There are people on my own team who I commend so much for the perseverance and dedication they exude when they get knocked down because it is so awesome to see them get back up, heal, and return to racing.
I guess what I am trying to say is that the great times wouldn’t be so sweet without the bad times that come and go. One of my favorite sayings is from the song Anthem by Leonard Cohen; “there is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.” What this means to me is that sometimes when the pause button is pressed on the things you love most in life, this is when you are reminded how much you love what you love. So no matter how big or small that bump is that you hit on the road to where you were going, just keep on keeping on because there are so many people rooting for you and it makes crossing the many finish lines down the road that much sweeter.
- JTonn
