My First Year Of Running Track

Feeling exhausted, I focus on my breathing. I breath in through my nose and then out through my mouth, breath in and out. Repeat. After passing the mile mark, my coach is shrieking for me to relax, because I am on my way to qualify for cross country states. The top twenty girls qualify, and I have been dreaming of this day since freshman year. All I have to do is hold my position, and then I am golden. Suddenly, my legs begin to feel like jello. My running partner slowly fades ahead of me, and I cannot keep up. It feels like I am running backwards as the rest of my teammates pass me one by one. Fighting fatigue, I tell myself I am finishing this race, whether or not I have to crawl like a turtle to do so. I am crossing that finish line.

Near the beginning of my sophomore year I faced a situation I never thought I would endure. I began this journey after being diagnosed with appendicitis. Typically, appendicitis is a simple fix and one can eventually return to their normal lifestyle. Since modern technology is so advanced I thought my case of appendicitis would be gone in an instant. I was out of school for about a week to prepare for the appendectomy. After the procedure I returned to school and continued with my everyday routine. Little did I know that the hospital would soon become home. The week back in school felt like the longest week of my life, I was constantly cold or felt weak. As the weekend approached my symptoms seemed to worsen, it was finally after collapsing

By this time I would be on the track getting my workout in to run the 300 hurdles. I was solid in that event, but the events I took the most pride in was the 400 and the 4 by 4. It had been a rough ending to basketball season but this would be the major turning point for me. I could make it all up by going to state. My track coach knew my coach from middle school so she has heard quite a bit about me. I never really had training or anything I just ran at first. I started to do summer training and ran with a local track team. Coach George wanted me to run the 200. It was new to me so we trained in the mornings before school. She bought in the assistant coach and he had me and few more girls lined up on the track. He wanted us to stand side by side and sprint out and merge into lane one. It was kind of crazy because we were all kind of jumbled up together. The first time as I merged into lane one my legs tripped another girl and she fell so I felt bad. So the third time I tried to make sure I didn't trip anyone up because my legs were so long. I dodge tripping the same girl but I almost hit another. By the fourth time I was really just over it, I jerked my body one way and my hip went the other. I ended up limping to the finish line. I thought it was just a little kink and I could just pop it out. I was completely wrong. It was way worse than the ankle injury. I guess it was a sign from good telling me to

On race day I woke up to a magnificently beautiful yellow and purple sunrise. I had a quiet relaxing morning as I readied myself to leave home. I played a soothing playlist of rain forest sounds to keep my mind clear. I felt very calm as I left for the race with my family, when suddenly the visceral tissue in my stomach began to contract, causing my stomach to emit an angry rumble. I realized I had forgotten to eat breakfast. We stopped at a coffee shop and ate sugary cream filled donuts with bitter dark chocolate icing while inhaling the pungent aroma of brewing coffee. Then we got back on the road.

To start it off, I moved math classes to Mr. Dicker’s, which was one of the most stressful events of my life. Personally, I thought moving up would be much easier than it actually was. I found myself in a constant struggle and had to push myself to my limits. I constantly had to go in for extra help because I got down on myself. All of the hard work, long nights, and stress I put in to math eventually paid of. I ended up getting all As on my report card throughout seventh grade, which I could barely get my mind around. During seventh grade, I participated in volleyball, basketball, and soccer. I played soccer for six years when I was little, but I hadn’t touched a ball since. I knew from the beginning that soccer would be hard for me since I am not foot-eye coordinated in any way. Normally, sports come pretty naturally to me, but soccer was different. I compared myself to other people, but I decided that that was enough. I began to practice soccer almost everyday, and soon enough, I began getting compliments about how much I had improved. Getting good grades and trying a new sport were both amazing experiences, but my personal favorite time from seventh grade was the Colorado trip. The Colorado was not only a break from all the stressful academics, but it was a time where I could bond with new and old friends. Before the trip, there was a group of people who I had never really come in contact with, but during the trip, I made some incredible bonds with these people. Like I said, seventh grade was a time of change, but it was a change that set me up for success in eighth

It was my first race headed to Greater Lowell Tech.The first thing that happens when i walk into Greater Lowell’s track were 50 to 100 people in different schools including greater lowell there were schools like Mystic Valley, Northeast. My heart was pounding heavily like it can’t stop. luckily i was taking deep breaths to calm myself because the quad race haven’t started yet. So then our coach was discussing about Greater Lowell’s Course but there were a lot people i was shocked to watch. then show us the course when should we take advantage to pass people. Then the starter guy will say all boys will meet in the starting line so i walk there seeing 50 to 100 people in the starting line i already feel my legs shaking and aching a lot, mouth dry too need water etc. I look at the other teams they looked determined

Blistering heat, rushing adrenaline, and a lost voice are all ways to describe one example of a leadership experience that I had was during my junior year at my second CBL Cross Country race. I remember that at this time, instead of putting in our top seven runners at this varsity race, we actually instead put in our number eight through 14 runners on the team due to our coach playing a gamble and seeing if we could still possibly win the League Championship while sitting out our top racers.

‘’Never let the fear of striking out, keep you from playing the game’’ (Babe Ruth) .These words are always in my head while playing. A great lesson I learned from playing softball was when you show that you are defeated, that’s when you know that you are truly defeated. I have had many failures in my life but my junior year in high school was my worst.

Sitting in my frigid bleak classroom I found myself constantly looking out the window staring at the rain that had been barreling down all morning. This frightened me a great deal, for I was prepared to compete in my first official Cross Country race of the season. I waited for this day for quite a few months. Unfortunately, previous back-to-back injuries prevented me from fulfilling my dream of running. These injuries were so severe i had to go into surgery just to be able to walk normal again much less of running on uneven surfaces like cross country. The long months of rehabilitation were log and painstakingly hard, not just physically but mentally as well. There were so many days i knew there was no way i was ever going to be my normal self again. When I was finally able to run again I spent all of my summer practicing for this year’s season. Many of my

I ran as fast as I could, I was tired but knew that I had to keep going. The sun shone down ferociously making it very bright and torrid. I felt sweat drip from just above my brow into my right eye. My eye began to get a burning sensation just as I turned the corner. My muscles ached, but I knew I had to shift into overdrive and pick up the pace. I started to run faster and faster. I began to get the feeling like I was about to throw up, but knew that I couldn’t stop now. I continued to sprint to the finish, and just as I crossed the finish line I looked to the clock and noticed that I set a new PR. The feeling of happiness that swelled up inside me took me back to the practice on the tuesday of the previous week: That day it was hot as fire

The day before Christmas in 2012 was one of the most exciting and anxiety filled days of my life. First of all, it was the day before Christmas,so as a kid I was naturally excited, second is because it was the day I ran my first 5K. A few weeks before Christmas, my parents had signed my family up for a 5K. If you didn’t know a 5k, or an “impossible task for a fourth grader”, is a 3.2 mile run. My Mom said it would be a fun challenge that would make me so much stronger. Of course that was before she told me and my sister how far we’d be running. As soon as I heard it, it instantly sounded like something I’d never be able to do. But somehow and someway I managed to do it.

The coach made us run extra harder, which many people did not enjoy. I ran thinking, if I run hard enough, I will run the greatest 2-mile, the distance we have to run in the league finals, I have ever ran. We would run intervals, 1 lap, 2 laps, 3 laps, 4 laps, and vice versa. We would also run up and down stairs and run track laps until we felt like puking. The week passed by fast as we practiced, and the league finals was just up ahead now. The weekend before the meet, wasn’t much, but for most of the weekend, I had butterflies in my stomach multiplying every second the meet got closer. My dad told me not to worry, which I thought was silly, because this was a huge meet. I got a lot of rest sleeping, and finally, the day had come. The day of the cross country league

I was told that during the mile, I threw up and then fainted. When I got to the emergency room, a nurse immediately inserted an IV needle or intravenous rehydration needle to treat my severe dehydration. They took blood samples and ran a couple tests. Then a neurologist came in and asked me a couple questions regarding my coordination and vision. At the end of the test, the neurologist executed a spinal tap or a test involving a long needle that is inserted into your spine to remove a sample of fluid circulating around your brain and spinal cord. After waiting about five hours, I was sent home. I felt better, but still not 100 percent. After a month, my mom received a call from the neurologist that hospitalized me. Then, the news came, my mom told me that I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

Today, we have a track meet! At the track meet when I finished most of my events, I went to the concession stand. At the concession stand they had a new type of Gatorade called Black Hound. The new Gatorade was a gross green color, almost with a mixture of brown and gold. I decided I would try this drink. The drink was a waste of two dollars because it was horrible. Black Hound tasted like a dirty, moldy sock they might have used as a washcloth. The drink made my stomach turn inside out. A few minutes later I had to go to long jump. On my first jump, while I was in the air, I was twisting and turning. I landed with a forced slam against the ground. Everything went pitch black immediately. I had absolutely no feeling what so ever in any part

It was sunny out, but there was a slight breeze blowing the tent around, making it hard to set up. Friday evening was the practice run, where all the riders got the chance to pre-run the course for the race the next day. When the announcer announced that it was my class’ turn to practice my stomach dropped. It felt as if I was going 100 mph and just hit a dip in the road. I felt like