One breath in, one out. One breath in, one out. Alexis Romero concentrated on the rhythmic pattern of his breathing and the swift sounds of his feet hitting the forest floor. As he pushed himself forward, his mind started to drift ever so gently towards his goal.
Romero has a goal and that goal was to win league in cross country the very next day. This isolated run was to clear his mind of everything and relax. All his coach ever preached about was hard work and a positive attitude. That is why this run was nothing new to him, just another way to help him and team do better.
Romero has been running long distance since his freshmen year. As a young child he excelled in playing soccer but later on stopped playing and tried out for the cross country team.
Summer training went well. After having a decent track season he knew he the first meet this season proved to be successful for him and the Grizzlies. They competed at the Crescenta Valley All Comers meet.
Romero ran 16:47, his fastest time on that course. Even though he ran his best time he understands he still has a lot to work on with being mentally tough throughout the race.
With some good early season momentum, Romero went into the Cool Breeze Invitational with high hopes. But he didn’t race as he should have, again as he fell victim to not being mentally tough.
He ran a 17:40, his confidence level was not up to par. Frustrated with his finish at Cool Breeze he got back to work.
Leading up to the Lancaster Invitational he finally started feeling great during workouts and was consistent with them.
Race day, Romero took a risk and made a move with about 1.25 miles left to go for the win. He ended up placing second but he finally had a race where he kept his mental toughness all throughout.
With that first meet just a day away, Romero and his team prepared to compete in the always tough Foothill League. Three teams, Canyon, West Ranch and Saugus were all ranked in the top ten of their respective divisions so Romero knew this wouldn’t be a relaxing run.
According to Romero, “This team has a lot of potential. With Coach Wes being here for a full off-season we changed our workout and conditioning program.”
The team and the coach hope these changes pay off with a more successful season.
As the season progresses, Romero had high hopes. He knew that he had to make a firm statement at league meet 1 which ran on Sept. 26 at Central Park.
Obviously being ranked 47th in the state and 15th in CIF SS D2 as a team is reassuring. But being apart of the CIF team two years ago, Romero knows how little rankings mean this early season.
He will keep his foot on the pedal with his training as he looks to be one of the top dogs in league and CIF.
All the best to hi