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The Pain of Victory
I’ve been running since I was in 7th grade. I can still remember the first practice I had for cross country. My sister had been running (she’s three years older than me) and encouraged me to go out for the team.
During the first practice (which was incredibly easy, now that I have been running for this long), I struggled and was tired, but thought that it wasn’t all so bad.
Flash forward to the next morning. I had a top bunk so I had to climb down a ladder at the foot of my bed to get out of it (that bed was so cool, by the way). Well, I didn’t climb down – I fell down. My legs were so sore I had to fight back tears. I was convinced running wasn’t for me, especially because walking around the whole day was killer.
Ten years later, I am still at it and it has changed me in ways that I can’t describe (but that other runners understand, just ask them). My high school cross country team was incredible and I’m sure I’ve mentioned that it made me who I am today.
I still remember my best moment in cross country, in my runner career as a whole so far. It was counties my freshman year. The race was at Kutztown. I had run the course before the race so I had a good understanding of where I needed to go.
I had set a goal at the beginning of the season to run a sub-30 (minutes; it’s actually a very slow pace, but I’m not a fast runner) race. This was my last chance. I had gotten close, but not close enough that I thought I would make it.
Hitting that goal wasn’t even in my mind when I started the race. I was just trying to do the best I could. Then, as I neared the finish line, my teammates started screaming at me, cheering me on. I didn’t know what was going on, but I tried my best to finish strong. At the end of the race, a teammate tackled me and hugged me so hard it hurt. She told me that I blew away my goal, beating it by a full 30 seconds (that’s a big deal). In fact, she had done the same, getting sub-21 by 30 seconds. I remember jumping with her and crying and being so proud of both of us and all of my teammates.
So now I turn it over to you. What are your greatest sports moments? Did you win a championship game? Did you do something you had never thought you could achieve? How about being named the MVP? I’d love to hear about that one memory that you will never forget, so please share!
Posted by
Laurie Perini
During the first practice (which was incredibly easy, now that I have been running for this long), I struggled and was tired, but thought that it wasn’t all so bad.
Flash forward to the next morning. I had a top bunk so I had to climb down a ladder at the foot of my bed to get out of it (that bed was so cool, by the way). Well, I didn’t climb down – I fell down. My legs were so sore I had to fight back tears. I was convinced running wasn’t for me, especially because walking around the whole day was killer.
Ten years later, I am still at it and it has changed me in ways that I can’t describe (but that other runners understand, just ask them). My high school cross country team was incredible and I’m sure I’ve mentioned that it made me who I am today.
I still remember my best moment in cross country, in my runner career as a whole so far. It was counties my freshman year. The race was at Kutztown. I had run the course before the race so I had a good understanding of where I needed to go.
I had set a goal at the beginning of the season to run a sub-30 (minutes; it’s actually a very slow pace, but I’m not a fast runner) race. This was my last chance. I had gotten close, but not close enough that I thought I would make it.
Hitting that goal wasn’t even in my mind when I started the race. I was just trying to do the best I could. Then, as I neared the finish line, my teammates started screaming at me, cheering me on. I didn’t know what was going on, but I tried my best to finish strong. At the end of the race, a teammate tackled me and hugged me so hard it hurt. She told me that I blew away my goal, beating it by a full 30 seconds (that’s a big deal). In fact, she had done the same, getting sub-21 by 30 seconds. I remember jumping with her and crying and being so proud of both of us and all of my teammates.
So now I turn it over to you. What are your greatest sports moments? Did you win a championship game? Did you do something you had never thought you could achieve? How about being named the MVP? I’d love to hear about that one memory that you will never forget, so please share!
Posted by
Laurie Perini
posted by The Phoenix Files at
4:59 PM
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