Last Week Event

Derek Frauendorfer

Ms. Morrell

English IV

9 October 2012

Last Week Event

            The clouds layered the sky in flat, light grey, pillow-like formations and the sun was no where in sight.  It was perfect weather for running, which was just what I was about to do.  I lined up timidly at the starting line at Disney’s Wide World of Sports for my first Cross Country meet.  I had never run 3.1 miles before; in fact I had barely ever run half of that.  However, I was excited to see how I would compare to my other competitors.  There were over 100 other competitors running this race, and I was certain all of them had more confidence and experience than I had with distance running.  Their faces were so determined, and most runners were squinting their eyes in anticipation.  On Your Marks, Get Set, Go…

            The gunshot was not as loud as I expected, but perhaps I was too focused to get the full effect of the loud pop.  I began at what I thought was a pretty fast speed, just to soon discover I was greatly outmatched.  At least half of the competitors got off to a better start than me, and it appeared as if they would stay ahead.  However, I was warned by my teammates before-hand that this would not be a race against other competitors, but more so against my own body.  We were not trying to win, we were just trying to finish and possibly beat our previous times, which was something I did not have yet.  As I continued on, the race got harder and harder to run.  My legs began to get heavier as if weights were constantly being strapped to my ankles.  I am not proud to admit this, but I did have to stop to walk a few times to catch my breath. 

As we got to the two mile mark, I started feeling raindrops on my face.  The coolness felt good because it was a contrast to my scorching sweat droplets.  But then, the raindrops began pouring down harder and faster, and before I knew it, everyone was being called under a tent and the race was to be cancelled.  I ran about 2.5 miles out of 3.1.  At first it felt like a relief to have the race end early, but after I had recovered from my heavy breathing and sore calves, I wished I could have finished the race, just to say I could.  However, there will be other races, and now I know what to expect.