A Mile Goes A Long Way
Dec 08, 2020
By Young
My heart was racing. My legs were rubber in its finest form. My mind was spinning in constant circles. I monstrously sped up for the last few hundred meters. It was the moment I’d been waiting for for ages. It had only got to me that I was alive when I passed the white painted line on the fresh-cut grass.
It was a windy but calm Thursday morning at my elementary school. My friends and I had been waiting for this day, for the past week. I trotted out the back door, into the sun. The familiar open field, glimmered with the scent of cut grass, weaving in and out of my nose. The trees surrounding the field, with its dark tint of green, and it’s leaves swaying with the rhythm of the wind. Today could not have been a better day for a nice run. But today was not going to be a nice run, it was going to be a very competitive and difficult one. I knew that from the start, but I could not back down.
The coach’s whistle blew, and I started with a nice paced run. I cut through everyone and quickly got to the front of the train of students. Although my posture was straightened, and I was proud of being the leader of the pack, I knew my goal was not to beat my classmates. I was competing against myself. If I wanted to get better, I needed to try harder than ever before. With that in my mind, I zoomed off. Mind going wild, as usual. First lap. Second lap. I zoomed through both easily. I was starting to feel the burning sensation by the third lap. I was breathing hard, trying to catch my breath frantically. My legs were starting to shake violently. I knew that a little pain would not stop me from doing what I was destined to do, so I continued on. Slowly but surely, I increased my speed a little by a little.
The pain in my legs and throat increased. My body was urging me to stop, while my mind told myself, “Keep Going!”. Without hesitation, I knew which one to listen to. I ran full out for the rest of the third lap, and onto the fourth, I ignored my surroundings, ignored my body, and ignored everything else. All I was focused on, was getting this personal record. I was now on the fourth and final lap. My legs now felt like jelly, and my mouth was drier than the Sahara Desert. On the final hundred yards, my mind blacked out, and I was now in an imaginary world. Although still feeling the constant growth of the pain, I could also now feel hope. My eyes were closed because I didn’t need to see. I could feel the finish line, glimmering in the sun. With the white coat of fresh paint laying on the grass. I didn’t care about the cheering coach waving at me, or the fact that my legs were now pure moist rubber. With the finishing momentum, I flew through the ending line like a hummingbird flying across a pond. Once I regained my legs and shuffled to a halt, I finally got my mind back in order. I was dizzy, and the only thing I could think of was...my time! My time! MY TIME!! I strolled over to the couch, dripping sweat. I almost fell over due to the dizziness and my legs still being cotton. The coach showed me the number. The number that would forever change my perspective in this sport. The number that gave me my personal record.
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