Meet Jennifer Lima, a team member on the FSU women’s track and cross-country teams. She has some great insight about how to get started as a student-athlete, what to expect from the upcoming season, and tips on some of the best running spots in Tallahassee.
Courtesy: Seminoles.com/sports
Her Campus (HC): How did you first get started with track and XC (cross-country)?
Jennifer Lima (JL): “I first started to enjoy running in fifth grade because my dad was running marathons. I ran track in middle school but didn’t start XC until sophomore year of high school (mostly because I told myself that I wasn’t a distance runner).”
HC: How has being on the team shaped your college experience?
JL: “It definitely influenced the people I’ve met, which has been awesome because I probably would never have met most of my teammates in my normal routine. Another one of my favorite things is all of the cool places I’ve been able to visit during meets. Like I never would have been able to go to Madison, WI with my friends if I hadn’t been on the team.”
HC: What is something that you do to motivate yourself when practicing?
JL: “During XC and even during track now, since our team is so good, thinking about the team as a whole kind of helps motivate us all. That way we’re not just doing it for ourselves.”
HC: Where is the best place to run in Tallahassee?
JL: “There are so many trails so this is a hard one. I think my favorite place is Miccosukee Greenway. You can go almost six miles out and six miles back -probably a bit more than that if you really wanted to. It’s a very pretty, long trail that has a couple of open fields and areas through the woods. Another good one is Lafayette Heritage Trail Park; that one has a lot of different trails that you can take.”
HC: In your opinion, what is the most important thing to keep in mind when balancing school, athletics, friends, etc.?
JL: “I think that prioritizing them and making sure they are balanced the right way is important because it is hard sometimes. Another thing I’ve learned is to make sure I sleep enough when balancing them all because I used to miss out on a lot of sleep. If I’m not well-rested, it all just does downhill from there- school, athletics and friends.”
HC: With regards to this upcoming track season, what are you most excited for?
JL: “It’s very exciting because I just read that we haven’t been ranked in the top five in the country since 2010. The men are currently ranked third, and the women are currently ranked second for indoor track pre-season rankings. We’re all excited to see how it plays out because we have a lot of really good sprinting and field recruits that we just got. We can’t wait to see all that they’re going to do. XC is also coming off of one of their best seasons because the men and women both went to nationals for the first time in about four years. The distance people are also very excited because we’ve improved a lot in the past year. Overall, everyone can’t wait to see where this goes.”
HC: Where can people find out more about the meet schedule, times and locations so they can support you guys during the upcoming season?
JL: “Online. If you type in FSU track and field schedule it should come up. Our big home meet is towards the end of March and we have another one towards the end of school in May.”
View the team’s upcoming events by clicking the link for the Women’s Track and Field Schedule.