Sep 11 2012
On your mark, get set! GO!
It was my junior year in high school when I decided to do something different than my regular routine of just going to school and going straight home. My friend invited me to join the track team with her. I needed to do an extracurricular activity to boost my resume, so I gave it a shot.
The first week of practice was the worst. My body was sore because it wasn’t used to running a lot. At first, track actually discouraged me from running because I was always last during practice. I had to work even harder because my strides were obviously shorter due to my short legs. A normal person’s stride was equivalent to two of mine. I frequently thought of quittingbecause running didn’t seem to be my forte.
Running requires a lot of heart, perseverance, and stamina. It is more of a mental sport than a physical one. Your body wants you to stop and rest. However, you need to keep telling yourself to not give up and finish strong. At the beginning of track, I wasn’t mentally strong enough or competitive. Nevertheless, I didn’t want to quit track. I didn’t want to easily give up on something just because it is too strenuous. So I continued going to practice everyday.
Practice got better and my body didn’t feel sore anymore. I was able to build up stamina and run for miles. I actually began to enjoy track and was looking forward to it. When I run, I feel as though my troubles and worries are temporarily gone.
Track meets were the worst. I disliked being compared to others and having an audience watch as I compete. The wait to approach the starting line was nerve-wracking. I would see my intimidating competitors prepare for their race. As I approach the starting line, the butterflies are in my stomach. The adrenaline starts to rush all over my body when someone says, “ On your mark, get set.” When that person says go and pulls the trigger, I just run. As I am running, my body’s telling me to stop. But I keep telling myself that I can do this and finish. I usually picture a hungry cheetah running after me as motivation. I loved the feeling of pushing yourself to pass your competitors but I hated it when they passed me. On those last 100 meters, I have to give it my all and finish strong. When I pass the finish line, I feel that sense of accomplishment. It’s the best feeling in the world.
What events did you run in track? I was thinking about that while you were presenting and it reminded me of my track season. I quit lacrosse last spring to make a difference on the track team and my 4×400 relay team came within 0.4 seconds of the school record. I could relate to the feeling of accomplishment that comes after finishing a race, especially when it’s in first place.
I thought I couldn’t run track because of my short legs and I didn’t have enough stamina to run the distance, just like you! I think it’s amazing that you pushed your limits in order to finish the race and to not give up. I wish I had the mentality to pursue track and actually push myself to compete in track.
Would you have regret not pushing yourself to finish the race?
I used to run track was basically reliving it as you described your own experiences. Finishing any event was definitely rewarding even if I didn’t do the greatest in many of them.
And Cassie, those were my exact two concerns about running: short legs and stamina. But, I just pushed myself for two seasons just to get the experience.
I used to run track so I was* basically reliving my experiences as you were describing your own.
I love how you chose to go for the one extracurricular that seems to be most ill-suited to you, but I love that you managed to succeed even more – kind of a laugh in the face of obstacles, you know? The way you tied in your visions of a cheetah chasing after you as a motivational technique was charming, and I’m sure I wasn’t the only one giggling at it. Remind me never to challenge you to a race though, I’m pretty sure I’ll lose…