Victory

There is an old saying that goes something like “the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat”. Well last year I experienced the agony of defeat. I was injured for most of track and cross country season which put a damper on my racing. This year though, I was able to feel the thrill of victory by winning my first JV race.

I always pictured going across the finish line first would be great and you would be feeling happy and full of extra energy. What I experienced was not quite that.  Yes, I was really happy and excited after I finished but I didn’t think of any of that during the race.

When I realized that I was leading the race, I didn’t want to slow down and let the other runners catch me but I was getting really tired and wanted it to end. I kept going though because I wanted to win.  In the last 200 yards all I could think about was when is this going to be over. Actually it felt more like an extra mile than 200 yards. On top of it all the finish line was uphill so it made the ending so much longer and a lot tougher. One thing that helped me get to the end was the cheering because even if the crowd wasn’t cheering for you, it always makes me go faster. Once I crossed that finish line I let out a huge sigh of relief knowing that I had won the race.

Even though the race was really hard and I was tired afterwards, nobody could take away the pride I felt by winning my first race, even if it was JV. All the work and practice that I have done has paid off and I hope I can improve my time as the season progresses.