I laced up my shoes, and I was ready to go. I was ready to start an adventure that I didn't know would change my life. I was ready to begin my life as a runner.
It was my first day of track as a tiny little freshman in high school, and I will admit, I was terrified. I played sports before, but I always dreaded the running aspect of them, and that's all I saw track as. I knew only a few people on the team, and I had heard pretty intimidating things about the coach. Little did I know that this team and this coach would become part of me and push me to become the stronger person I am today.
Days passed, muscles got sore, and I thought maybe the sport really wasn't for me. I had no clue what I was doing, and I certainly was not very fast. The workouts were hard, and every night I had to go home and ice constantly. As someone who was not a huge fan of pain, I wasn't sure how much more I could do. However, the next practice changed everything.
It was an interval day, which were never easy. Each stride felt uncomfortable. Every breath got shorter and more desperate. I slowly started to stop putting in all my effort. I didn't think I could do any more. At the exact moment I started to give up, my coach realized it. Like an eagle, she picked it up instantly. She told me she believed in me, and that she knew I could do better. This was the first time I had ever had someone believe in me. She continued to do that for the next four years.
At another practice, my coach pulled me aside and asked me what I thought about trying out hurdles. She had been hinting at it here and there in prior practices, but this time, she straight up asked me if I wanted to give it a try. I looked at her like she had three heads. I thought to myself: Is she crazy? There is NO way I'm doing that. I may have said no, but the next practice she set the hurdles up and told me and one other girl we didn't have a choice.
I could not have been more terrified. I could barely run, and now there was an object in the way? In what way did she think I could do this? However, I did not object. Hesitantly, I began to stretch, and prayed to God that she didn't really want me to do this. She did.
I slowly started to stand up, and my coach started to tell me and the other girl the proper technique to hurdling. I stood there, confused beyond what words can describe. I've never even wanted to do this in the first place, and now she expected me to do it properly?
Then came the moment of truth. Getting over the first hurdle. I ran, and the hurdle came closer and closer. I went over it without thinking about it. Wait, what? I didn't hit it or kill myself? And wait, I actually liked it? This is when I was forever thankful that for once, someone believed in me more than I did.
The next four years was when I became a stronger hurdler, and a stronger person. Although one year I was robbed of spending my time with my team, I got to build many strong connections to my team and built a family. I gained so much more than ability. I gained a friend and a family.
