Arizona CC Journals - Kylee Kieser

  Milesplit Cross Country Journals  

Kylee Kieser returns this season as a top distance runner in Arizona.  Kylee has already had a great start to the 2010 Cross Country Season placing 2nd at the Sole Sport Invitational and winning the Padre Invite.  Keep checking back as Kylee shares her final prep cross country season.

 

 

 

Kylee Kieser

(Sr., Marcos de Niza, AZ)

 

Journal Entry #1 (September 28, 2010)

Introduction 

 

  Hi mile split readers, I hope everyone enjoyed their summer off and had a great 2 months of training for the 2010 xc season! I am very excited to be able talk to all you guys about my season and my life. I am Kylee Kieser, I ran xc for Casa Grande for 3 years. I started running when I was in sixth grade and to be honest I hated it with a passion, my work ethic was horrible and I never really wanted to be there. By my eight grade year I decided to run cross country. I had never run cross country before so to get a feel for long distance racing I ran in the Arizona summer road race series. I ended up doing really well and from that moment on I enjoyed being a runner. Then I began my freshmen year at Casa Grande, I was so excited to be running on the high school team. My dad was an All- American and 3rd in the nation in the 3000 meter steeplechase, so basically running is in my blood. I hear it alot that I have natural talent,  but most of it is hard work, like the quote, “ Hard work beats talent when talent hardly works.” I believe that is so true, talent can only take you so far, but hard will take you even farther.

 
My goals for this season are to make it to Footlocker Nationals. That has always been a dream of mine to do and this year I am going to try and make it happen. I also want to be state champion for division II, something else I have never done that I am working hard to achieve.
 
I am now starting my senior year at Marcos De Niza High School. Yes, it was hard transfering for my last year of high school, but I love Tempe and my new school. Last track season was tough for me, my father changed my whole training system and it was tough not to being up there in the top where you know you belong. At State the same thing, I knew I should have been up there in the top with Brianna Decker and Daylee Burr and not where I was but you know we all have bad races and we just move on and get ready for the next season. I made the choice to run the Meet of Champions trying to run a better time in my two mile but that didn’t happen, after that I decided to move on and take a week and a half off and get ready for my senior year of cross country. In late July I began to get knee pain in my left knee, I went to the doctor and sure enough I had tendonitous, like my good old friend Rex Woodburry. I began to go to physical therapy and my knee got better and now my legs and knees are stronger then ever.
 
Since this is my first journal and the season has already started I have ran 2 races, my first was the Scottsdale invite, 
I had never ran that course before and I loved it. Most of all because I got to run with the boys. I ended up getting second behind Sarah Fakler from Xavier and I beat Brianna Decker for the first time! I do not count state from last season. I love that girl to death and always will no matter what the out come is, we will always be friends. The next race I ran was Padre invite (photo left, Kylee finishing at the Padre Invite) which is the meet my school puts on. I won that race and my team got second! Go Padres! My time wasn’t to fast but it ended up being the fastest of the week! The win earned me a spot on channel 3’s varsity sports zone! The Padre was a nice win and it was a great sight to see my teammate Paige Libsack finishing third right behind me! You junior runners better watch out for her she is crazy good and is coming for you guys! I also wanted to say great job to Marrisa Optaz for winning the Boulder Creek Invite by almost a whole minute, great job girl. Basically my racing plan is pretty simple, just run to get out of trouble and settle into my pace and run your my race from there. My coach and I don’t tend to plan to far into the future, its nice to have goals and to work to exceed them, but I take it one race at a time. I focus on the race of the week and when that one is over I move on to the next one.
 
We have a few meets left till I finish out my final season as a high school cross country runner. Our next big meet is the Twilight in Queen Creek, it is one of the best races of the year and I am looking forward to that race! I am very excited to get to run with Sarah Fakler, Brianna Decker, Kristi rush, and Daylee Burr, those girls are great runners and great friends. I am so lucky to have gotten to race with some of the best girls in the state these last four years. After that we have Dough Conley, Mt sac, City meet, Sectionals and then of course the most exciting meet of the year, State. After state I am planning to run NXN Nike Cross Regional’s and then footlocker west. In the past month I have been talking to a couple schools about scholarships. In October I am going on recruiting trips to Northern Arizona University and also Oregon State University. 
 
When you’re an Elite runner you have to sacrifice a lot of your time and social life, like spending time with friends or going out. I have made sacrifices to be at the level I am at today. I want to be the best I can be. One of my Favorite quotes is from Steve Prefontaine “ To give anything less then your best is to sacrifice the gift” this is so true, if you don’t give your best your just wasting what talent you have! Most importantly you could be letting your teammates down, even the jv team. You jv runners are just as important to us as the varsity!
 
Lastly, I am always asked what advice can you give for other runners. I always say you have to be willing to work hard no matter what the conditions are. You have to be focused on being the best and go out there and run smart. And most importantly working with your teammates. Your team is the most important. If you didn’t have a team you wouldn’t be where you are today. Marcos captain Cristal Castro and I truly believe that! To be one of the best in the state is not easy, it is lots of hard work and sacrifice. 
 
I just want to wish everyone the best of luck! Do not hesitate to add me on face book or come up to me at a meet and ask for advice! I am always willing to help. I love cross country and I want to help anyone that wants to be at that next level. Ill be writing again soon! 
~ KK~