FOUR MILES

On my first real high school track practice I ran 4 miles. Having not trained over the winter, I had also not run over 2 miles consecutively. That run was terrible. I had to walk some of the way and I couldn't believe we still had a week of practice left. I thought of that as a long run but it turns out it wasn't. It took me over 40 minutes and I was exhausted at the end. I had no idea how I was ever going to get through track.

On Thursday I ran 4 miles. I set a new PR in 30:34 even though it felt like I was struggling. My legs didn't feel too bad though with only 16 miles ran so far this week. Besides the PR, there was one more thing that made this run special. The lead runner was me. My faster teammate wasn't there but I would've been able to keep up with her like I have most of the week. With or without her though, I was in the front. I've been in the front before but never by myself. I was running at a faster pace then everybody else on my team. This time, I was the one everyone tried to catch. This fact was not lost on me, as evident by the random smiles on my face. I felt like I had truly made it. I was flying in front. I was the leader of the run.

I didn't realize until I was stretching afterwards that I had run the same exact route when I first started. My running has changed so much since then, and not only in my endurance. I now look the part of a runner and I am good friends with many of my teammates. I now understand that these miles are neccessary for me to succeed. I love running more than ever. I have run miles and miles since that first practice and have worked hard to get where I am now. It hasn't been easy but on Thursday, when I was in the front, I knew it was all worth it.