Interview with the Irvington Girls’ Cross Country Captains, seniors Karina Paonessa, Julia Lin, and Celine Jeremiah

Q: What do you do to train?

Karina: We sometimes go to the course (Coyote Hills) to train, and I have soccer practice twice a week and games on Saturdays and Sundays.

Julia: Other than normal team practices, I will sometimes go on runs on my own just for the sake of running (and to keep a good mileage base).

Celine: Our coach gives us different workouts like endurance workouts, recovery workouts, hard workouts, and strength workouts. Sometimes we’ll have one to two hard workouts a week focusing on speed and endurance, or mileage, which is running three to seven miles a day, or we’ll have hill workouts, where we run on hills, since a lot of the courses we race on have hills. But it really depends.

Q: Do you have a special diet?

Karina: I try to, but I’m always tempted to break it. However, I make sure to get enough protein, calcium, and of course, carbs.

Julia: I genuinely don’t like chocolate, candy, chips, soda, cheese, sour cream, salad dressing, stuff that has too much oil or too much sugar or is not made from pure ingredients…you’d be surprised at how much of a health freak I can be. It’s not a specific diet; it’s a way of life.

Celine: I try not to eat junk food (sweets, chips, and cookies) and we’re encouraged to stay off of Fast Food. It really depends on the person, since some people are able to run better with a certain diet.

Q: What is the best part about being team captain?

Karina: Just getting to know the whole team.

Julia: This is my second year as a team captain, and the best part about it is being able to be a good leader to the underclassmen, just as I was led by good captains when I was a freshman and sophomore.

Celine: The best part is getting to lead such a great team, and we’re like  family. It’s just so nice to be part of this great big family.

Q: Does the team do anything special before a meet?

Karina: The girls’ team always does the hokey pokey before a race.

Julia: Yeah, we do the hokey pokey. The guy’s team yells about pancakes. But after the meet is the best, because we all unite and do the squirrel song.

Celine: We usually do the hokey pokey, as said before, and sometimes we shake each others’ arms out to get them loose.

Q: What do you do to calm yourself down before a meet?

Karina: Just thinking about the race beforehand helps.

Julia: To prepare for a meet, I try to get a decent amount of sleep beforehand. Getting enough sleep helps me to go into the race with a clear mind. It also helps to try and relieve stress.

Celine: Mentally, I’ll think about it and get in the right mindset. Throughout the day of the meet, I’ll make sure to have breakfast and drink a lot of water. Usually I’ll have a banana right after school.

Q: Anything else you would like to say?

Karina: Running in the rain in fun!

Julia: One should never call cross country “just running”. It is much more than just running. Your mentality is so significant when it comes to racing. But more importantly, you learn that cross country is both an individual sport and a team sport, and without one or the other, the sport wouldn’t be as wonderful as it is.

Celine: Um…