What Is Lolo Jones-Personal Narrative Essay

When I first joined cross country I was not fast nor a runner. I was one of the slowest people on the team, but I wanted to get faster and I was determined to improve. Some days we would do a hills workout and I would get to the top of the longest hill and think, “I could just run back to Armstrong right now and be done”. But then, I thought about how if I did another hill, I would get better and some time during a race when there was a big hill I would look at it like it’s nothing. I could go up the hill easily and pass a couple girls. So I would do another hill. Then the next time we did hills I rememberd how many I did the last time and pushed myself to do one more. Through that cross country showed me that I could be faster and tougher than I thought I was if I put in the effort and want it

I had no experience as a runner nor did I have the form. This did not phase me however. That year I promised myself to push through all the six mile runs, sore legs, gnarly blisters, and at times, lack of oxygen. At every meet and speed workout practice I pushed myself further and further. I set a goal every time I kicked off from the starting line and never let myself get discouraged when I failed. By my senior year, I was the fourth fastest runner on varsity. That year our varsity team won the district meet, which qualified us to run in the 2016 state meet in Oregon. The transformation over the years were evident. My determination to accomplish my goal of becoming a faster runner was complete. If I had simply just given up that first day of practice, I wouldn't have ran along side of the fastest runners in Oregon or have met the multitude of people that are now my closest friends. Having a goal sets one up for a challenge, whether it being physically or mentally, goals keep us active and thinking in more ways than one. Still, if someone has self-control, confidence, and a goal, they are still not complete.

In physical education we were put to do the mile I was always second to last if not last I wasnt made fun of but I didnt really good about myself. As the years went on I was still fat couldn’t do anything until sophomore year of high school is where it all changed. I remember it quite clearly as if it was yesterday I was sitting in my math class when one of classmates had large number pinned to his bag and a uniform on that hadn’t seen before. That's when I got curious and asked what sport was all this for he then explained it was for cross country and that I should join it would be fun. It turns out that the season was about to end so it was to late to join so I had to wait for next year so I did. I went my junior in the summer since that's when they practiced and ran for the first time. After this first run I thought I was going to literally die and didn't want to this any more and to top it off all the guy runners who I thought that were slow beat one by one. This is where I decided I wasn't going to be last or lose a race to anyone. I practiced the whole year and did track top it off. Now the summer of my senior year was very motivational since I got up early ran and did this everyday till school started to be the best of my high school. Well the season would begin and I was breaking my school records and receiving medals from invitationals and

Track represents the major skills needed in my life; leadership, talent and comfort. Track was introduced to me from my basketball coach. The situation was mostly an eye for an eye, but instead it was he coached, I ran. The diversity of races and field events was extremely new to me.

Up until the day after Thanksgiving weekend this year, I had never done any sport beside softball (Well, beside soccer and dance, but that only lasted until I was 6 or 7). Don’t get me wrong, I was not inactive or anything, I just had only done one organized sport. I loved softball and I felt really comfortable playing because I knew exactly what was going on. Also, I am not one to try out new things all the time. But I decided to try winter track out. I felt decently comfortable running and I knew it would help my performance in softball in the spring and summer. So I went for it. A few of my friends also were doing it, so I felt a little better. On the first day of practice I actually had fun. We did a bunch of fun exercises, most of which

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

Since the 7th grade, I have and continue to push and strive to become the most elite athlete I can be. In middle school, I ran the 100m, 200m, and 400m relay, and the main objective of middle school track for me was to not only place, but to also gain experience before entering high school track. As my high school track career began, track and field was not as much fun and games as it was preparing for future track events. One of the most challenging moments as a freshman was being able to transition from the 100m to the 400m. When most high school athletes think of the 400m, they feel it's one of the most gruesome races to run, and it is. Although I had zero experience running the 400m, I was more concerned doing what was beneficial for

“Good Job keep going, you can do it, run run faster, you got this!” These were the words coming from the audience as I was finishing my last 100 meters in the cold, pouring, rain during sectionals. I was in second place in my heat and my heart was thumping and I couldn't see through the water stains on my glasses, but I heard someone someone breathing hard and their spikes hitting the track as they ran behind me and I knew I had to push even harder.I remembered the rough trading I had in practice and knew I could 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

We quickly received a summer training schedule and I started training. I soon came to the realization that this sport was just what I needed. Cross-country was the key that unlocked my jail cell, and I started dropping times – fast. As my freshman season came to a close, I ran a personal record (PR) of 19:49, somewhat rare among brand new runners. At around the same time, my dad received orders to move back to Pace, Florida, where I had spent part of my elementary school days. I joined my new team but unfortunately could not perform well. I didn’t run very much after my freshman season, so I basically had to start from scratch with a 25:05 time trial. As a result of hard work, I PR’d in my last race with a 19:36, but that wasn’t the highlight of the season. I had people helping me through this struggle the whole

Since kindergarten, I grew up watching my older siblings play sports and track has always caught my interest. I was fast runner and everybody knew it and I just couldn’t wait until I could do track in middle school. During middle school, I got even faster, I was at my

I was afraid of Hurricanes, Volcanoes, and water. Let me tell you my fear from the beginning. I was in Kauai. on my 2nd day there at we spent the day at the St. Regis hotel “just checking it out” but my dad asked if we could stay here even though we weren't guests and on the employees said the only way we could stay is renting a cabana for 5 hours with free lunch for only 250 dollars so we said, “yes,” and we were so pumped. As fast as we could we splashed in the water like a bunch of 3 and 4 year old's.

I was a late-comer to athletics. So when the distance coach recruited me in tenth grade, it was a pleasant surprise to be half decent. I was deemed the most improved cross country runner in the nation, dropping six minutes for a 4K, landing me in my first state race. I have since been a contributing part of my varsity team. I have been All-Conference and All-Section for the past three years. This past year, my cross country team won state and nationals. I, myself, was runner-up in the team division at nationals. In Track and Field, I also competed at state. Running has become a huge part of my life, teaching me many lessons, especially that there is always room for

When the season ended and my senior year was slowly approaching I knew I had to get better no doubt about it, over those three months of summer I ran harder than i had ever ran with and without hurdles becoming faster and having improved stamina. When it came time for my first senior indoor practice I knew I was a better athlete it even felt like I was better than before.Coach not being sure about how I would preform the only thing left to do was prove myself to him.Durring this indoor season all I had to run was the 55 meter hurdles so itwasno reason why I shouldnt excell in it.At the first meet coach expected me to run at least a 8.50 after I finished the race I immediety looked at the looked at the clock finishing seconf I knew my time had to be decent. I had ran a 8.45 running faster than the time expected of me I was very proud of myself but knew I could go faster.When the conference meet came I still haven't ran any faster but I knew i could at the finish line i wanted and before I knew it the gun was shot POW! getting out of my blocks even faster than i ever had I knew this was the race where I would run my fastest

Family, teachers, perhaps even peers has told you the saying “Hard work pays off eventually.”. That is precisely what the individuals who are informed of my Track and Field career told me. But at the time, as a freshman, I wanted to be the best there ever was, a track star, the unbeatable.