Road to NBNI Blogs, 2015: Sammy Watson, Week 3
Sammy Watson's Road to NBNI Blogs: Week 1 | Week 2
Photo: Sammy Watson winnng the Armory Invite 1k earlier this winter/John Nepolitan photo
Hello again! This past weekend I competed at the New York state championships. I competed in the 4x200m relay, the 300m and the 1000m. In the 4x200m and 300m, there were prelims and finals, and I ended up running the 
two rounds for both events, so in total I ran five races.
Leading up to the meet, I made sure to stay hydrated and take every workout seriously. I focused on my arms and strides and did a lot of core work. I carbo-loaded and stretched well the night before, running over my races in my head, and visualizing where to surge and when to kick and how I would drive my arms.
I was very excited to race and, even though none of my seed times were ranked first, I came home with a NYSPHAA and Federation gold medal in the 1000m, and a NYSPHAA gold and Federation silver medal in both the 4x200m and the 300m. I didn't get any personal records but I was extremely happy with how the meet went.
I am now mentally preparing for indoor nationals. My sprint medley relay team and I leave Thursday afternoon and we hope to come home as All-Americans and maybe win a national title. I'm also running the championship 800m, which will be fun because I'll have a lot of competition. I'm looking to beat my personal indoor record, 2:09.27 and maybe win a national title at that, too. Last year at nationals we had a DMR that didn't do so good and I also ran the freshmen 400, taking 3rd in that. So this year I hope to come home with more medals and satisfaction with how the meets goes.
