Track to Success

My track spikes

In life, people always face changes that they have to learn to adapt to. Never before would I have thought that I would be one of those people, however, just like all people my age, this did in fact occur to me. While it might not have been in a collegiate setting, my story on the track can relate to those facing issues in college.

I slowly walked off the bus, lugging my bag that contained my spikes and water on my shoulder. In front of me I saw the track, and behind me I heard a voice saying, "How does it feel to lose to a freshman Austin?"

I turned around to see Jared, a freshman on the track team who had beaten me out of my spot in the 3200 meter. Having known he was joking, I laughed it off, but deep down I felt angry with myself for losing to him two weeks prior. As we walked towards the track, I thought more about how this could be my final race since I was no longer the lead 3200 meter runner on the team. Instead I had to work towards being a 1600 meter runner following a switch halfway through the season. I decided to forget about this as I ran to catch up with the fellow seniors on the distance team. I met up with Danny, Eric, and Mike as we neared the track to prepare for our races. We walked together onto the field surrounded by the track and idly talked until our coach arrives. After waiting for a few minutes, our coach came out of the coaches' meeting. She walked up to me as she says, "So are you ready for the 1600 today?" I looked at her and said, "I'm not so sure. Last week I had my best race and I still couldn't even reach the mark." Her eyes focused on me with intent and she stated, "Trust me I have a feeling you can do it. Just make sure you leave it all on the track." "Alright if you say so," I answered so that I could go stretch.

As I took my warmup jog I felt the heat crashing down from the clear blue sky. My body was sweating while I was stretching, yet I felt fine and oddly comfortable. Seeing me stretching for the race coming up, Danny came over with me to stretch as well. As he jogged over, he yelled, "So Austin you ready to run this race and qualify with me." "Come on Danny, you already qualified and you saw how I did. Do you really think I'm going to?" Grabbing my shoulder, Danny assured me, "You heard what Coach Shannon said. Just like her, I know you can do it Just stay with me alright." I laughed as I respond, "Well then I'm definitely not going to qualify!" As we both laughed about this, we heard over the loud speakers, "Second call 1600 meter race. Second call 1600 meter race." Not wanting to be late, we stopped our stretching and jogged over to the starting line. After we checked in with the race officials, we headed over to the starting line to await the start of the race. Once the officials had checked everyone in, they lined us up and prepared us for the race ahead.

As the starter yelled, "Runners to your mark," the tension in my mind rose. My nervousness increased as we waited. When the starter finally yelled, "Set," I began to think back to my previous race in the 1600 meter. It was my first time I had ever run the 1600 meter during a track meet as I was usually focusing on the 3200 meter. When the starter fired the start gun, I ran out as hard as I could, after all it was only a 1600 meter opposed to a 3200 meter. I started out strong, running with the lead pack of eight runners while my teammate Danny was behind me by several places. This confidence did not last long, however, as my body began to feel the pain from running faster than it was used to. Those surrounding me began to run faster while I dropped back into a slower pace due to my 3200 meter training. I looked at the lap marker as we passed it, it was only the beginning of the third lap. I also noticed Danny begin to pass me up. From there, I knew it was going to be a long endeavor. Then I heard the starting gun firing in reality.

West Mifflin Track

Following the shot of the gun, I went out in a fast pace. I had to get out into the head of the pack or else I might not be able to come up to a faster time. I passed up many runners while falling in place next to Danny as he knew how to run the race much better than myself. My stature became slightly slouched as I focused my head towards the blue track. It was unlike any track I had ever run on not only from the coloring. With each step I took, I felt a slight spring as if it was more cushiony than any other track I had run on. The heat also felt minimal even though I knew it was a warm, sunny day. This confused me making me look to my right slightly. When I looked this way, I saw Danny and it looked like he was struggling in the day's race. It was then that I knew I would have to leave Danny to achieve my goal time allowing me to advance to one more race. My confidence began to flow again as I pushed myself harder again and up into the upper part of the pack. As I rounded the starting line following my second lap, I felt fine and confident that I would reach the time. That was when I saw someone in front of me start running faster, so I decided to run with him. This decision ultimately hurt me within a matter of 200 meters as I began to feel the pain return and had to start drifting back again towards a slower time.

My mind began to drift back to my previous race. It was the beginning of the fourth and final lap, and I could see the clock ahead with the time of the race. I knew that I needed to reach a 4:52 1600 meter or faster so that I would be able to run in WPIAL Qualifiers. The time that the clock read was about 4:05 and there was 300 meters left. This inspired me to run faster than I had in any other part of the race as I had just started the final 300 meters. I would come to regret this coming half way around the bend when I saw the clock read 4:30 with 150 meters left. My body became overcome with pain during the final stretch and I began to slow down while trying to push myself to the finish line. Realizing that it was all or nothing, I pushed myself hardest with 50 meters left but by then it was too late. The clock read 4:53.05 meaning that I had missed the target time by just over a second. I began to feel angry yet tired and went to sideline to lay on the ground.

My thoughts came back to the race as I was nearing the beginning of the final lap. Deep down I knew the same result was about to happen all over again due to my stupidity in the race. As I began the final lap, I heard my coach yell, "Come on you're almost there! Just a little faster!" That was when I became overcome with an emotion. Rather than confidence, however, it was determination that I had been overcome with. By having this, I pushed my pace slightly faster but not into a dead sprint because I knew I still had over 300 meters left. As I ran, the pain began to overcome my body again. This time, however, I was not going to slow down. I continued to push myself at this pace as I rounded into the final stretch. That was when I saw Eric and Mike standing near the track. I heard them yelling, "Austin you have to go! You have ten seconds left! If you don't give it your all, you're not gonna make it!" Following their advice, I pushed my body into as much of a sprint as it could at that point. The pain began to feel excruciating as my body was never used to pushing it self for this long. It was instead use to having a comfortable pace during the whole race in the 3200 meter.

The finish line was so close to me yet my body's pain made it feel like an eternity away. My legs began to feel like there was a searing fire coursing through the veins. The air that managed to get into my lungs burnt and stabbed the insides. With each step I took, I felt like I was going to collapse. This did not deter me, however, as I knew that if I gave up now it would all be for nothing and I was not about to quit. My determination and adrenaline kicked in as I pushed through the final thirty or so meters. These distance felt like a mile in itself, yet I could hear my coach yelling, "4:49! 4:50!" After that, I unleashed my final burst of energy seeing the finish line as clear as day. I ran through as fast as I could while falling onto the ground of the sideline following my race. The beat of my heart was racing while I laid there gasping for as much air as I could get. My coach came over screaming, "I think you did it! I think you hit the time!" I smiled and gave my thumbs up then hobbled over to the garbage can and proceed to puke out everything inside of me. When I was done I told her, "I left everything out there like you said." I laughed a little until I went back down into the can.

Later on that day when the official results were posted, I saw that my coach was correct and that I had crossed the finish line in a time of 4:51.40. I could not believe that I had reached the time by 0.60 seconds yet I knew it was for one reason. It was from the determination that I had to achieve even though I had been forced to switch my normal event. Now I see that this not only applied to the track but to anything in life. Being a college student, I am surrounded with constant decisions resulting in switches of what I intended for myself. This major change applies when students are not making the grades in certain courses required for a major they want. They are being outcompeted by others within their intended major making them unable to qualify for limited spaces. Ultimately, they have to find a new major by this force which can be difficult for many people to accept. With determination, however, they can find more success in this new major as opposed to the one they were only average at best in.