This past weekend the Cross Country team had the special chance to experience the life of an elite runner by going to ZAP Fitness. Nestled in the beautiful mountains of North Carolina, ZAP Fitness is a training center for post-collegiate and even Olympic hopeful runners. Acceptance to the center is dependent on running times and an interview—the remote lifestyle requires extreme dedication and is not for everyone. With around 10 athletes usually living at ZAP, each athlete gets specialized coaching and training.

While at ZAP, we got to experience some of the perks that come with such an elite and dedicated lifestyle of a professional runner. One of the special things that ZAP has is its Alter-G treadmill. This high-tech treadmill actually allows you to walk or run at a fraction your body weight. One of our runners, Walter Hendrickson, who has a stress fracture, was allowed to run on it. After an insightful and motivational team meeting we went to bed after an exhausting but satisfying day.

Saturday morning started early with a run at Moses Cone Memorial Park. It had been raining most of the morning, so there was mist everywhere as we went on our run, giving it an almost surreal feeling. The trees were gorgeous since they were in the process of changing colors, and the fallen leaves created a colorful mosaic surface to run on. Even though it was a long run, the run flew by as we ran around the Moses Cone where we even got to see the huge manor that was in the film Green Mile.

After our run and customary ice bath, we headed back home. However, the fun wasn’t over yet. Since it was Halloween, the Cross Country team celebrated with our own costume party at Danielle Mitchell’s house. Now, we are all focused on the Conference Meet this Saturday. We have all trained and worked hard, and now we just need to trust ourselves and run they way we know we can.  I have been blessed to run with a wonderful team of ladies, and I am so excited to see how we all perform. Go Lady Buffs!

Lauren

http://alter-g.com/ (link about the Alter-G)

http://www.zapfitness.com/ (link with more about ZAP)