By Emma Gonosey
Executive Sports Editor
Senior Dalia Frias broke both Costa records and course records during a Woodbridge Invitational race on, Sept.18.
Frias competed in the three-mile race, running a 15:43.5. With this time, Frias broke the Costa record for fastest three -mile time, and broke the Woodbridge course record by ten seconds.
“It felt great breaking multiple records at just one meet,” Frias said. “Breaking the course record was especially rewarding. There is such a legacy of athletes that come[s] to this meet, and being one to set a record at such a high level meet means so much.”
Frias has been running cross country for Costa since her freshman year, and she typically runs mid to long-distance, both during practice and races. She trains almost every day, constantly preparing for her next big race.
“We typically have workouts Monday [and] Wednesday,” Frias said. “Meaning on those days we either run some sort of tempo. Usually one mile repeats at race pace or 800s.”
Besides her workouts, Frias also runs long-distances several days during a norBy Emma Gonosey Executive Sports Editor Sophomore Leonard leads Mustangs to 32-26 win against Washington Union mal week. She continues to run and train on the weekends, as well.
“On days where we don’t have workouts, we just go for normal runs that are usually about six to eight miles, and on Tuesdays and Thursdays, we do some weights [or] cross training at the gym,” Frias said. “Then, on Saturdays, when we don’t have a race, we have our long runs.”
According to Frias, she tries to keep calm and keep her mind blank during big races. While racing is physically draining, a big part of racing is a strong mentality.
“Not a lot goes through my mind during a race,” Frias said. “I try to stay pretty relaxed for the most part and not get in my head too much. Of course racing takes a lot of endurance and takes a lot of training and workouts. But running is also a huge mental challenge. It can be really tough to stay mentally strong during a race when you are putting so much effort into it.”
Frias has had to train especially hard to build a strong running mentality. According to Frias, it can become easy to start doubting yourself while running, training yourself to persevere becomes key.
“Sometimes when you are training it can feel as if you are doing it all for nothing,” Frias said. “You have to retrain your mind into realizing that it’s not the immediate results you want. You are working toward building up for the more important races toward the end of the season and have to stick with it and stay consistent for it all to pay off in the end.”
According to Frias, she has been able to build up her strength, stamina, and racing abilities by practicing almost every day during the week.
“Honestly, just staying consistent is what really helped me get to this point,” Frias said. “I put a lot of trust in my coach since she knows what she is doing. Just slowly amping up each workout and slowly building mileage are some things that definitely play a big role in my progress.”
Frias recently committed to Duke University, where she plans to continue running cross country.
“I am planning to stick with the longer distance events, anywhere from the 800 and up,” Frias said. “I plan on running through college, and if the opportunity comes, I would love to continue running even after college!”
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