Creative Writing: The Racing Race

We finally got three practice laps so we could feel what the track was like to ride. Next we immediately started trials meaning we raced to get the best 14 riders to continue to the main event that night. I was in two classes The 250 and the 450 so I had two chances to make the main event. 250 trials was the most difficult because there were 28 riders, and only 14 could go on. Now nobody really tried on trials it was just a chance to be good enough to make it to the next round. I was 7th out of the 28 so I ended up getting 7th gate pick for the main event. The 450 class had its pros and cons. There were usually less riders, but I rode a 250, a bike almost half the size, but racing against harder competition can only make your better. There were only 20 of us in the 450 trials, and I gave to the best of my ability to get the best gate pick I could get and ended up being

Your first race has finally come. You climb onto the stepping block, and your legs are so unstable that you might as well just fall into

A wise person once said, “If I tell you I need you, do not take it lightly. I do everything I can to never depend on anyone, to never show weakness, and if I say that I need you, it means that I am trusting you to catch me when I fall.” For many years my friends have never been there to catch me when I fall. I never knew what a true friend was until I met my horse. She always helps me through my ups and downs. Sometimes she lets me fall, but only when she has a very good reason! This year I will be the best barrel racer that Kansas has ever seen in history, smart, brave, and strong. .

This week I felt a combination between a little nervous and desperate. First the discussion was not easy and we are in the final push before finals, so I just want to make sure that I am well prepare and learning as much as I can to do well. I know that I can do it as long as I try hard.

Every runner wore a bib number with the time they start on it. As I was running people were passing me who had started after me, and I kept thinking I was going too slow and that I shouldn’t be taking this long to complete it. Through words of encouragement from my mom and decipline mentras from myself I finished the race, I crosses the fanish line and the feeling of triumph as I crossed it was something I’ll never forget.

On March 19, I ran my 3rd Los Angeles marathon- a running event that is becoming an annual affair that me and my wife participates, which started 3 years ago when she signed me up to run my first marathon exactly one month before the event (she did her first the year prior).

The race had already been postponed from a previous date, and after having to wait an extra week for our highly anticipated home invite, our entire team was stirring by the time the day finally befell us. It was a reassuring feeling to be able to warm up on the course knowing that every step of the 3.11 mile course had been imprinted into from the time I had started running on it the summer before. Granted the weather wasn’t perfect by any means and the course’s condition was already less than stellar, but I could make do, to be honest I was too excited to even let it

After every race, you can vaguely expect what you will see up on the clock. I know, now, how much I put in, is only as much as I can expect to get out. Running has helped me form some ideas that are still fresh in my brain but will hopefully help me become a better version of myself. Just remember, someone may have a lifetime ahead of them, but they need to make the last bit just as good as the

So I decided to keep running. I knew that I may be a little more sore tomorrow, but if I was going to accomplish my goals I had to work hard. I kept running, and toward the last mile I began to really feel the burn, but I did push and finished with plenty of time to spare. That practice is what I thought of as i crossed the finish line with a smile on my face. As I headed back to camp still beaming about my time I thought to myself,

I could feel the tension amongst the riders. Our team is known for always helping out, so of course we were holding horses and helping out. I love doing that, it distracts me from my nervousness. So my coach, Cathy, my teammate, Brooke, and I waited for my class. The time was getting closer and I went to get ready for my class. On my way to the car, I met up with the rest of my family and some friends that came to watch. Having them there gave me a reassurance, but also some butterflies. Now that I was all dressed, and could see my reflection in my polished boots, I felt ready to

It all started as a passionate love towards the sport, then came as a dream to be one of those guys you see on t.v riding their bikes down a mountain, then became reality, and then….I was there on those mountains. Breathless. Just staring down below me as if I was a bird looking down from the clouds. I could taste the pine from the trees below and beside me. The taste was so surreal. And for a split second I couldn't believe where I was, and who I had become. I was so happy to be where I was, and was sure my mom was looking down on me today, and smiling from ear to ear seeing her son fulfil his dream.

As I stumble past the finish line, I am numb to my surroundings. I am numb to the other racers in the chute, the overjoyed parents, and the intrusive volunteers who shove me down the line to keep it moving. I am numb to the sweltering heat and the stench of two hundred overworked, sweaty racers. I am not even bothered by the girl vomiting beside me, because all I can feel is happiness. The first thing I want to do is share this literally breath-taking moment with my teammates, because they are the only ones who truly appreciate this feeling. Once we locate each other within the swarm of spectators, we share our times and experiences from the race, and even though it is a short exchange, it makes me realize how grateful I am to share the same passion for the same hobby with so many wonderful people. In this moment, I suddenly realize that I have never appreciated a sport so much, and I have finally become part of a team that makes me feel like I belong to a family.

I got used to it, or so I thought. I started taking my turns faster and getting in race mode. By this time I had calmed down and relaxed. I got to relaxed and got ahead of my self and BAM! I went down jamming my knee between my bike and the hard packed dirt ground. Adrenaline instantly hit me. I felt dizzy from the adrenaline. I could feel it run through my veins like cold blood. I picked up my bike I finished the practice lap and pulled into the pit. I put my bike on the greasy aluminum stand that I had been using for a year. I sat down to calm my nerves. The adrenaline was still there. I tuned my bike up for the race. I sprayed my chain down with a sticky liquid called chain lube. I took out the wrench and tightened my chain. As soon as I changed out of the sweaty clothes and wash the muddy dirt off of my face, I sat by the fire.

I go to the grass by where we will line up for the race and I put my spikes on. Making sure every spike is tight; I double knot the laces and stand up. Now my stomach really hurts. The nerves of a runner before a race are one of the worst things to handle. The announcer puts me in line and I take a deep breath once it’s my time to go up to the blocks. I set up my blocks for my standards and take off my sweats. The breeze hits my thighs as my tank top flows from side to side. The sun wishes me good luck just before I start my race. I slightly shake as the announcer tells us, “Runners to your mark!” and I get down. Shaking more vigorously now, my heart is pounding in my chest. It seems like hours waiting for him to yell, “Get set!” “Go!” but once he does I know it’s go time. I push off my blocks, and I run as fast as I can. I can feel my legs moving together in motion as the balls of my feet dig into the track. My spikes are doing their job in helping me grip to the surface as I make my way to the finish line. Neck and neck with the girl next to me I hope she gets winded out near the end and slows down so I can just scarcely make it past her. I feel like I am running as fast as a horse. Crossing that finish line and coming to a slow stop, I breathe heavily as I exhale in relief of being over. I did it, I’m done… and I did well. My legs raw, I get off the track. (AB) Some fellow sprinters congratulate me as I do the same to them. That is what’s nice about track, it seems like most of the people are very friendly. They have no problem congratulating you or talking to you about how nervous they are before a race. We know we are all in the same boat and all we want is to succeed. Every blue moon a distance runner will congratulate a sprinter but I don’t think it has ever happened to me. I don’t know if they are just caught up in their own world or if they are just being stingy about the whole

I have come to love bicycles in the course of the past year. I am especially fond of mountain bikes, including my own. Riding it opens up a whole new world of opportunities and challenges for me. I am still fairly fresh to the whole mountain biking scene, so I push myself to become better with more experience. Riding is an outlet; it is something I can channel pent up energy through. I love the sport because it is a full body, soul, and mind experience that affects all five of the senses.