“So, why track?” People would always ask me. I literally never had anything else to reply other than “I liked the track uniforms the girls had on in the Fat Albert Movie and wanted to wear one.” I kid you not, that is where it all started. My priorities have not shifted much since age 8, as you can see (I kid, I kid). I remember my first track practice at age 9, the summer after returning from the city I evacuated to for a year after Katrina. My coach didn’t believe that day was my first time running on a track. It was only a couple of days later that he began training me with girls and boys years older than I. I was a “natural”, and I loved what I did. My glory days reign from age 9 running summer track to year-round varsity in middle school, continuing into high school, and ending as a D1 athlete my sophomore year in college. That is 10 years of dedication, commitment and legit blood, sweat, and tears. Granted, I learned a lesson or two along the way that are still relevant in so many aspects of my life:
1. If you allow others to create your identity, you will be miserable.
I was super talented, and people were aware of my talent. I don’t say that to brag, I say that for you to understand the following. I remember one night out with my friends (I think it had to have been a special event or something because I recall being super dolled up), a stranger came up to me and said, “Is your name Camille? Dude I heard you’re like a BEAST.” Granted, I know he meant this as a genuine compliment and meant no harm at all. Granted, at practice, at a track meet, at an awards ceremony, this comment would have made me beam. However, with a face of make-up, curled hair and heels, “BEAST” was not the identity I wanted to be associated with. In high school, I hated that I was stamped with the identity of “the girl who runs” and wasn’t able to detach from it no matter where I was. Luckily, now, I am involved in so many things and explore so many interests that I am not able to be labeled with a single identity, I’m just Cami!
2. Your mind is an extremley powerful thing.
I have always told people that running, my race in particular, is 90% mental and 10% physical. I believe this ratio of physical to mental strength is necessary for many things in life. I remember one race in particular, which was probably the best race I ran in my life, that was held in Orlando, Florida. It was a national meet held at the ESPN Wide World of sports. With the addition to competition from around the country, I also competed against girls from Puerto Rico and Jamaica. Competition was very stiff and it was a big deal, but I wanted nothing more that day than to win that race. My event, the 800M dash, is two laps around the track. I’m pretty sure that I won the race for two reasons. The first, was the fact that I mentally psyched the girls that I passed up as they already ruled me out of the race (I spent the first lap of the race in dead last, then slowly began moving to the front). The second reason, I won the race is because I wanted it and had already decided in my mind that I was going to win it.
On the contrary, at the end of my career, I began to become mentally burned out and no longer succeeded in my sport. Practices would annoy me, I would dread meets, and just overall was not happy running any longer. I didn’t love it anymore, so I didn’t crave success in it anymore. No matter how hard I practiced, I did not succeed, because like I said before, 90% mental, 10% physical. Practice was only 10%, so the fact that my mind was no longer in the sport, hindered my ability to succeed. You have to mentally want it to get it.
3. “You can ALWAYS do better.” – Coach Virgil
This is probably the most important lesson I’ve learned from track, as I tell people this story weekly trying to share the lesson to others.
I recall one track practice that was particularly brutal that I pushed through and ended up smashing all of my target times for that day. After the last set of the work out, I remember collapsing at the finish line and just laying there, dead, but proud. My coach came up to me and said, “Hello Camille, are you alive?” in his joking tone. After shaking my head no, he asked, “Are you proud of yourself?” I shook my head yes. He said, “Do you think you ran the fastest you could and did the best you could?” I shook my head yes again. He said “You're wrong. You can always run faster, you can always do better.” At the time of course, I was butt hurt, but my coach is such a wise man so I knew he was right. When thinking about it more I knew that he was right. You can ALWAYS try a little harder and aim to be a little better, in all that you do. You can aim to work harder, to listen harder, to love harder etc.
Though my glory days are over, I am just so thankful for all the memories I’ve gathered, people I’ve met, and lessons I’ve learned throughout the 10 year journey that will help me out for a lifetime.
