Running At The Team-Personal Narrative

I sat in the back row of Mrs. Jewett’s room, surrounded by people, a queasy feeling in my stomach. I was here for the initiating cross country meeting, where Mrs. Jewett would explain what we would be doing through the season. I didn’t want to do this. I didn’t know why I was. The people around me joked amongst each other. Feeling lightheaded as though I was flying around on a roller coaster, my nerves were slightly calmed by the presence of Tyler and Alex, the other seventh grade boys on the team. Before this, the only running I had done was for PE. Even though I should have done more, my preparation over the summer consisted of only one run. I was a relatively good runner, but I hadn’t practiced at all, and my running would reflect on that. The next week, when our practice began, I was back in her room. Sitting in the last row again, I watched as my unfamiliar teammates filed in, one after another. Within ten minutes everyone was dressed and ready. We went outside and did a typical first day routine: we learned our …show more content…
I was feeling nervous again, but I was positive that I was going to do well. Tyler, Alex, and I stood up against the white line painted on the grass. We fit perfectly in it, like it was a package made to contain us. The starter shouts into his microphone: “On your marks…go!” and his gun fires off.
The pack surges forward, the runners acting like a savage animal as they tried to find a place in the large group. I settled in as the mob spreaded out, finding what I thought was a comfortable pace. However, I was unable to hold it. In spite of the course being the shortest we would ever run, I walked three times during the 1.5 mile race. I finished with 10 minutes and 31 seconds, 5 seconds behind Tyler. I felt horrible, knowing that I could have done better. I could have ran the entire track without stopping to walk, but I didn’t. I was ashamed. I was disappointed, and vowed that I would do