Hitting Her Stride
7/16/2010 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
A hidden talent going unrealized is a tragedy. A once forgotten
talent coming to fruition again is a miracle.
Take Alex Lizarribar, now a junior on the
women's cross country team. Lizarribar ran track for four years in
high school, but upon coming to Kent State, she discontinued
running competitively.
"It was all just too much to handle, so I could only keep running
recreationally," commented Lizarribar on trying to balance running,
work and majoring in pre-med (orthopedics).
Lizarribar says her biggest regret has been not running cross
country the last two years, but as she ran on the roads of Kent to
stay in shape, Kelly Gephart, a member of the
cross country team who also happens to be her roommate, took
notice.
"Kelly kept talking about Alex and herself running on the roads,"
said Kent State men's and women's cross country
coach Mark Croghan. "She eventually convinced
Alex she had some talent and me that she could be a top five girl
here."
Painfully nervous and unknowing of what to expect, Lizarribar did
not disappoint in her first race at the 6K Iona Invitational in New
York.
"The butterflies were there," commented Lizarribar. "It was a big
race in New York, and I had never been in a race like that. I kept
asking girls what to do if certain things happen, or if I bump into
another girl what happens then. I had a million questions."
Alex impressively finished second with a time of
22:52.10.
A week later at the Ohio Invitational, she did it again: second
place with a time of 10:39.17 in the weather-shortened
race.
While Alex was surprised with her early success, Coach Croghan was
not.
"After seeing her workout routine, the steps she took in her first
two races surprised her, but not me," said Croghan. "She takes the
right approach to training. Even on the easy days, she goes way
beyond what she has to do. She always pushes the pace."
While her training is intense, Alex's mental approach to running
is far more casual.
"I try not to think about it too much—I just like running,"
commented Lizarribar. "I never set any goals, and I don't think
about it too much whether or not I do well. I try to be modest, and
just want to help the team."
A crucial catalyst for Alex being able to run for Kent State has
been her learning time management.
"It took a while to learn to balance my life between school, work
and running," said Lizarribar. I had to take breaks and focus on
school or work for a little while. It's been important for me to
pace myself. Whenever someone stops running or stops playing a
sport, it takes a little while to get back into it."
Kent State is glad she got back into it so quickly, with the
Mid-American Conference Championships coming up in Athens on Oct.
31.
"I still want to improve, you always want to improve," emphasized
Lizarribar. "I don't want to peak now, I want to peak at the MAC
Championships. I still have to run with someone in practice,
because it helps me slow down. I still have to work on that."
Perhaps it's ironic, that Lizarribar's track history is still
forcing her to focus on slowing herself down, even when the name of
the game is to always go faster.
