Erika Ramos thought she had peaked during the fall cross country season.

Ramos said she felt like she could have had a much better season, though her times were faster, and she made some improvements.

She said she always felt tired and sometimes unmotivated during competitions.

With the indoor track season right around the corner, the senior middle distance runner was worried that her troubles in cross country would continue into her final indoor track season.

“It kind of scared me because I thought it was going to carry over into track,” Ramos said. “ I wasn’t sure what was going to happen during the indoor season.”

Despite her training and experience, Ramos said all of her progress seemed to have been derailed, and that she was moving backward instead of moving forward.

Though her fears continued to haunt her, Ramos said she was able to settle back into competing, like the bumps in the road she ran into during the fall had never happened.

“Everything was back to the way it was before,” Ramos said. “The overall atmosphere of being in the track just changes you.”

In the past five indoor meets, Ramos placed in the top 10 in all of the events she raced in.

This past weekend, at the Grand Valley Big Meet, she broke the school record in the women’s 1,600-meter dash, a feat she had already accomplished before.

Two weekends ago, at the Notre Dame Meyo Meet, teammate Britney Whitehead had snatched the record from her when she ran a time of 4:53.59.

This past weekend Ramos reclaimed her record, running a time of 4:47.16.

When Whitehead broke her record, Ramos said she did not feel like something was taken from her.

She explained it is good to have runners break previous records so that the team has stronger chances of winning meets.

Ramos had not planned on reclaiming the school record in the 1,600-meter dash; she said she just wanted to improve on her time in the event.

When the gun went off, Ramos and the rest of the pack was led by a rabbit runner who, she said, set them up at a pace where they would most likely hit 4:40 pace.

With about 800 meters left in the event, Ramos and the runner ahead of her (Gina Valgoi from Loyola University) separated themselves from the rest of the pack.

Ramos said she chased after Valgoi persistently, ignoring the scoreboard as the race was coming to a close.

Valgoi won the event, but Ramos also had something to celebrate about.

Ramos brought the record down to 4:47.16.

Ramos said that during the race, she had no physical barriers that prevented her from doing well.

However, right before the event, Ramos’ fears had overwhelmed her, until her coach, Erin Howarth reminded her of what she was capable of as an athlete.

“I was a little scared, but my coach came up to me and reminded me about the success I’ve had in the 800-meter dash,” Ramos said.

Not only has Ramos had newfound success, but she has also experienced drastic changes during practice.

Ramos said she now trains by herself, as she has surpassed her younger teammates.

Last track season, Ramos would train with teammate Megan Gingerich, who owns the record in the women’s 800-meter dash.

But now that Gingerich has graduated, Ramos said she has been left to fend off for herself.

“It’s good to know that you have reached a certain level, but you’re left by yourself to train,” Ramos said.

Sometimes Ramos has been forced to train with the men’s middle distance team to see some more intense results in her training.

With all the success she has experienced, Ramos said she still becomes a case full of nerves before each event.

To rid herself of nerves, Ramos says she finds ways to laugh.

She is constantly going to Tom Akers, the head coach, because he doles out jokes that help her relieve her stress.

When she runs, Ramos said she lets her body take control; she lets go of all of her worries.

Though she has a new record under belt, Ramos said that some of her biggest disappoints have come when she is so close to inching toward a victory and fails in the process.

When she ran at Indiana University earlier this season, Ramos was close to tasting victory in the mile and the 800-meter, but lost in the final moments leading up to the finish line.

At Notre Dame, she said she almost had the school record in the 800-meter in her grasp, but missed it.

“That felt like a slap in the face,” Ramos said.

Last outdoor season, Ramos was just seconds off from being the school title holder in the 1,500-meter dash.

However, her shortcomings have not kept her from pursuing success.

Ramos has set goals for herself for the remainder of the season.

She is vying for a spot on the indoors-national team, though she explained that making the squad is a lofty goal.

And she said she wants to get to regionals during the outdoor season, where she wants to compete in the 800-meter dash.

Even if she doesn’t make her target goal, she said running faster times would be a blessing.

As for life after Eastern, Ramos said she has no idea how she will be able to live without running.

Ramos explained that the sport has brought structure to her life for 12 years.

“For the last 12 years of my life, I’ve known this—I go to class, then I’ve got to go to practice, then I eat, then I go to bed,” Ramos said. “Now, I don’t know what I’m going to do with those extra 20-30 hours I get.”

She said she is always worried that running may no longer play a big role in her life as she inches closer and closer to graduation.

Ramos reflected on her career at Eastern and said that in the past, she would have never imagined herself breaking records or running the times she has ran.

“If I were to go back in time, I would never think that in the future I would be running 2:08 or 4:47,” Ramos said. “It’s kind of like, ‘what am I going to do after this?’”

She said it doesn’t feel like she has been running for 12 years, but her victories have kept her striding for success.

“I think success is what really drives, because, I mean, if you don’t have success in something, why would you want to keep doing it?”

Jaime Lopez can be reached at 581-2812 or jlopez2@eiu.edu.