Day 2
I made the mistake of reading my friend’s post for today’s topic before writing mine…
I find myself struggling and upset that I’m not as eloquent with my words, but have started writing a different version of the story 4 times. The story I want to share relates to exactly what I’m doing now - not giving up.
My high school track coach said the words to me that I haven’t forgotten. We were reminiscing several years ago, when she told me about a story she shares with her athletes about drive and perseverance. The story was about me as a student athlete.
My junior year of high school, our track team had many great runners. Our coach was trying to narrow down her selection to the 4 athletes who would run the 4x400 meter relay. To help with her decision, she ran three relay teams against each other, and the four fastest runners would be on the final team. A friend of mine found out I was running in the competition and was shocked. Normally, I only sprinted the 100 and 200 meter races, the 400 was a race I hadn’t run before.
It wouldn’t be a competition if there wasn’t heckling, right? Well, I was VERY competitive and my friend didn’t think I’d be fast enough to make the top four times. That really got me fired up!
NOBODY WAS GOING TO TELL ME I COULDN’T DO SOMETHING!
I was running the first leg of the relay and was in my lane ready to come out of the starting blocks. When the gun sounded, I blasted out of the blocks and never slowed down. I ran as hard as I could for that lap around the track. After I handed off my baton, I thought I was going to DIE. My legs were jello, I could barely stand, and I was struggling to catch my breath. I laid down in the center of the track while the rest of the racers ran their lap. When the race was finished, I peeled myself off the ground to find out the results of the race.
The top four times had been calculated. My time was one of those 4. My shocked friend was even more surprised than before! After the race, she said she didn’t think I was going to be able to keep up my speed for the whole distance. BUT I DID! I was so used to running short races that I didn’t know any other way to run besides all-out-sprint for the whole thing.
I was so happy to be able to tell my shocked friend “I told you so” that I didn’t think what it would mean if I actually succeeded.
I was stuck running the race that made me feel like I was going to die…
My track practices got harder, and I had to run longer distance sprints to get better at my new event.
Did I win that race? I sure did. Did I want to be in that race all the time? I sure didn’t. But, I grew to love running the 4x4 and ended up qualifying with my team for the state track meet that year.
Looking back, I’m so proud of myself, not only for running the race, but having the confidence to know I can do anything I set my mind to. I am grateful I still have that motivation and truly believe I can successfully do anything I try.
I was honored that my story of stubborn competitiveness could be used in a way to help others realize their potential.
The top 4. That’s me on the right with Katie, Lindsey, and Alicia to the left.
NEVER GIVE UP.
NEVER LET OTHERS HOLD YOU BACK.
ALWAYS BELIEVE IN YOURSELF.
I made it 2 days! Woo!
