It was the day of the Larz Anderson Invitational 2014. After the surprisingly normal day of school, the Park School cross country team headed towards Larz Anderson. We walked outside as a team and the air was dry and cold. The strong breeze sent chills down my spine and swept the orange leaves from side to side. Upon arrival, I saw the vast number of my competitors. Many of the runners were runners that had beaten me in the past season, and even as recently as the past week. These runners were getting ready to run in the big race. All of the athletes were called to line up on the starting line. I was at the front of the Park School section. I could feel the nervousness encompassing me as I was surrounded on both sides by the fastest runners
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Because the ninth graders were not allowed to run in this strictly middle school race, I was among the oldest in the group. This was the meet that our team had been preparing for since the beginning of the season, and I prepared even more intensely in the past few days. I had been hydrating well, eating the right foods, and even skipped swim practice the day before to rest my muscles before the meet. This had been the moment that I had been preparing for, and made sacrifices for, and doing well felt like the only option. The pressure was swallowing me up, and pulling me back to the …show more content…
Again, at this moment, my heart raced and sweat enveloped my body, but for different ways this time. I was working harder than I had ever worked in any running race in the past. I was in second place, and third wasn’t far behind me, after working as hard as I did, I wasn’t going to let him catch me. I sprinted towards the finish line and claimed second place. I fell to the ground, exhausted. My legs ached, and my hands were sore from clenching them so tight. My face was red and I felt like the world was on fire, but I was happy. By using pressure to benefit me, I had made my coach, my older teammates, my school, and myself
Because the ninth graders were not allowed to run in this strictly middle school race, I was among the oldest in the group. This was the meet that our team had been preparing for since the beginning of the season, and I prepared even more intensely in the past few days. I had been hydrating well, eating the right foods, and even skipped swim practice the day before to rest my muscles before the meet. This had been the moment that I had been preparing for, and made sacrifices for, and doing well felt like the only option. The pressure was swallowing me up, and pulling me back to the …show more content…
Again, at this moment, my heart raced and sweat enveloped my body, but for different ways this time. I was working harder than I had ever worked in any running race in the past. I was in second place, and third wasn’t far behind me, after working as hard as I did, I wasn’t going to let him catch me. I sprinted towards the finish line and claimed second place. I fell to the ground, exhausted. My legs ached, and my hands were sore from clenching them so tight. My face was red and I felt like the world was on fire, but I was happy. By using pressure to benefit me, I had made my coach, my older teammates, my school, and myself