This weekend I competed in my first ever heptathlon. A heptathlon is a track event that is comprised of seven events over two days: on the first day, the athletes compete in the hurdles, high jump, shot put, and 200 meter dash, and on the second day, the athletes compete in the long jump, the javelin, and the 800 meter run.

It had been a long road to get to this day, a road that had started in high school, when I had asked my then-coach if I could compete in the heptathlon. My high school coach is a wonderful coach; a lifelong trackie and incredibly kind. He also coached a large team and had to pick his battles. Therefore, his response was that I could not compete in the heptathlon, with the reason that I would be very weak in the throwing events. He was mostly right.

Flash forward two years, to the beginning of outdoor track season this year. My friend on the track team got her heart set on competing in the heptathlon. Personally, I think that she just wanted an excuse to try throwing the javelin. It was decided that I would be her training partner.

Over the course of the season, I learned how tough it can be to be a multi-event athlete. I would go to practice in the morning and do a running workout to train for the 200 and the 800. A few hours later, my legs still sore from their morning pounding, I would head to high jump practice, and pound my legs for another hour. After that, my legs would get a break, as I headed to the thrower’s lift to do a bench press workout.

The extra time was worth it when the first day of competition arrived. We started off our warm-ups in the balmy 70° weather and I was surprised when the athletes I would be competing against started chatting amiably to Reb and me about our warm-up. Over the course of the two days, I found that while trackies are overall nice people willing to exchange a “good luck” at the blocks and a “good job” at the finish, the multi-event community is even more friendly.

day 1, getting some shade.
selfie by Rebecca Craig

As is expected of a long day competing in the sun, there were ups and downs for both of us in the events. We were lucky to have two dedicated coaches beside us for the whole day, offering moral support, advice, and a well-timed Gatorade run. We were even luckier on the second day, when the rest of the team came to the meet to compete in the other events or to cheer. It was my third time ever long jumping in college that day, but with my team almost literally lining the runway, I was able to shatter my personal record beyond what I thought was possible.

Me and my hellee
Photo by Rebecca Craig

By the end of the meet, both of us earned the opportunity to compete in the event one more time this season: at the Conference Championship meet in May. We also got some pretty nice tan lines (think: socks, watches, and singlets) and a free pass out of 7 am practice the next day.

Room draw can be a very stressful and overwhelming time. People get very intense about it. Unfortunately, I am one of them. I make these intense color-coded spreadsheets and then print out the dorms maps and all sorts of stuff. It’s a little embarrassing, really. However, it has given me a sort of insight into the things that normal people who aren’t obsessed with spreadsheets can do to make their room draw experience a little less painful. To that end, I would like to present a few tips about room draw.

1. Communicate with your hall group or multiple occupancy partners.

This is really important, which is why I put it first. Let the people you’re rooming with/near know what you want and don’t want when it comes to room draw. If there are dorms that you absolutely don’t want to live in, tell them (some common complaints are: Brecon is too far, Denbigh 3^rd is too hot, the Pems are too loud, etc.). Only one person can speak up for your group when your number is called, and if they know what you want ahead of time, there won’t be any last minute debates when it’s finally your turn to pick. Also, it will make the living situation over the course of the year significantly less tense.

2. Check out Project Dorm Room.

If you’re too shy/lazy/busy to run around campus looking at rooms, this is a great way to get an idea of what a room might look like. While they don’t have pictures of all of the rooms on campus, it can be a good way to get a general idea of what a typical Erdman room looks like, or a general size estimate. In past years, they have even taken 360° photos of the rooms that were in the contest, which is a great resource.

3. Don’t freak out.

Yes, room draw can be daunting. Yes, it will determine where you live for the next year. But there is room trade period after this if you really mess up. And besides, most people end up spending way more time in class, at club meetings or sports practices, or at social events than in their rooms. For example, I’m pretty sure I spend as much time, if not more time in the dining hall and the gym alone than in my room.

Also, make sure you eat a good meal before room draw; it can go really long, and bringing snacks to room draw is generally frowned upon.

This week, the show How I Met Your Mother ended. I started watching the show my senior year of high school. It was the first show that I ever Netflix binge-watched, so it will always hold a special place in my heart. When I came to Bryn Mawr, I introduced the show to my good friend. Over the past 2 years, we’ve worked through all 9 seasons of the show. Naturally, a lot of the jokes have worked their way into our lives. We high five a lot more than we used to, and accept challenges with a lot more gusto. Much to my friend’s chagrin, I have found that “Have you met Reb?” is a fun game to play at parties.
For the finale, we were going to make a night out of it, but as typical Mawrtyrs, life got in the way, and instead of the Ben & Jerry’s-fueled party we had planned on, we ended up watching the final twists and turns on my laptop while snacking on chocolate chips from the dining hall. As series finales go, it was pretty good. My personal favorite part was when Ted talked with his kids after he had finished the story. I had always wondered how his kids would turn out considering they type of bedtime stories he told them.
Unfortunately, now I’m going to have to find a new show to watch.