Fifty meters. I could feel my calves burning, screaming for a break. But I couldn't stop yet. Just twenty meters were all that remained as I changed form slightly. I adjusted to run on just the tips of my toes.
Ten meters, I could feel the roar of the crowd running through my body. I was about to win. Then my world crashed down all around me. The ground seemed to roll under my foot and I slipped. I tumbled down and came to a rolling stop half a foot from the finish line. I tried to lunge over, but it was too late. I was passed.
Second place. The first to lose.
It was about a year later when I found myself training for the same race. I was the fastest runner on the Rim of the World High School Track and Field team. The main school day had ended and Track practice had started. In addition to running distance, I was trying my foot at sprinting. A recent bad day had shown me that I could move pretty quickly when under the right motivation.
"GO JASON!" I looked around to see my girlfriend Wendy standing among a few friends at the finish line. It was only practice, but the cheer had an effect. I was at the two hundred meter mark when she yelled, and I sped up upon seeing her. Within twenty two seconds I was at her side.
"Hey gorgeous." She wrapped me in a quick hug and planted a kiss on my cheek. "I'm almost done I think. I'm not so sure about the whole sprinting thing, Coach hasn't been sounding very optimistic."
"Well, you're just giving it a try right? So there's nothing to worry about."
"Too true. So, where were you thinking for this weekend?"
"Oh, just The Village. No need for a big trip this time." She was still a little shaken over our first date. Not even a month before we had found ourselves kidnapped by an Inland Empire gang. It was pure chance that the gang was dumb enough to let a rookie call the shots. Nobody was watching us, and we escaped mostly un-hurt.
"Peirce! I want another mile before you leave today." The Coach was being generous lately. Word had traveled pretty quickly about our incident and I had this feeling that he was only letting me try out for sprints because of it.
"Sure thing Coach." I looked back at Wendy and started backing away towards the track. "I'll meet you at the car in a bit."
"Oh, I'll wait, it's no problem." I nodded and started off my last run for the day.
I needed to keep my head in the zone. The next track meet was the upcoming Monday. I would be racing against the same guy that beat me the year before. I was determined to win this year, even if it was just a normal meet. It wasn't CIFs or anything, but I had to win. I had bought new shoes and was breaking them in on the past two practice days. New tread meant less chance of slipping on the dirt track down the mountain.
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