Bam! Just like that the culmination of the season was only thirty minutes away. What we had been training for all season, months, was about to ensue. After a swift, short fifteen minute warm-up we approached the starting to begin plyometric stretches. By “we” I mean the team (Aden, Mitch, Josh, Isaac, Sam, Avery) and I. There was less than twenty minutes till race time now. Plyometric stretches flew by like the roadrunner and, after wishing each other good luck and a team meeting, we took our positions at the starting line. “Runners, take your mark . . . Bang!” The starting gun was as loud as a tornado siren. Everyone took off at the speed of light, or maybe a tad bit slower. Through the first four-hundred meters, we were packed like sardines. Minimal …show more content…
Throughout the second mile Avery and I ran together and picked off runners one by one. A Saginaw Heritage runner here and a Midland runner there. All in all by the time we were done with mile two, we had passed seven people. As I passed the clock at mile marker two, it read 11:20, on pace for my same time as last race. Once again my ears rang like bells as cow bells were rattled all around me. At this point in the race my legs were nearly like lead and feet soaked to the bone. No matter, in my mind I knew only one mile remained and finishing as fast as I could was all that mattered. Heading into the last loop I picked up my tempo. Only 1400 meters were between me and the finish line. Now was the time to give it all I’ve got and not leave anything left in the tank. A couple seconds into the 1400 meters I caught up with a runner from Bay City, I think, and we cruised through a portion of the loop that went through the woods. We passed by “The Big Rock” as I call. It’s a random gigantic rock positioned on the edge of the trail. My entire body ached. The last turn in the woods portion of the course came out next to a highway and continued along, parallel to the