I got some pictures from the State meet last Saturday, so in the future it's likely there will be not-running pictures of me, but here are a few more.
Before the start, we meet up in our snazzy new running clothes. On the left is the 1st ranked team, on the right is the 3rd ranked team. We are ranked fourth, but we're ready to prove some people wrong. I'm on the left side of the circle, but you can't see me very well.
Having spoken to each other about plans and ideas, along with a few jokes, we warm up a bit to prevent early cramps and pains. Alongside the start there are nearly five thousand spectators, with more further along the course. Cameras flash like ephemeral stars, and the cheers are thunderous. I'm second from the right.
Nearly one hundred and fifty runners take off from the line. No race is won at the the start, but this time is different. If you start too far back, you'll never make it where you want to, there are just too many people. The start is a sprinting jumble of humanity, and it remains that way until the first mile. My mile split was 5:20, faster than I had thought possible, but I was in 74th. I was running the pace of the fastest man on our team, and I was still farther back than I wanted to be. Having taken the first mile 'easy', I pass a multitude of spent runners that ran the first mile too fast. At mile two, my time is 11:15. This is thirty seconds faster than ever before, and I begin to worry if I can keep up the pace, but I can't slow down. If I do, my gains in the past mile will be lost. I push ahead and I reach where I wanted to be, 60th. Eight hundred meters later, I pass the 6th runner on our team. I'm usually our 7th. Seeing the turn ahead, I think that I have only a couple hundred meters to go, and start speeding up more. Rounding the turn, I see that I have half a mile left to run, but I can't take back what energy I've spent. I hold on to my pace, hoping that I can keep it up. I pass other runners that, seeing the false finish, also ran too quickly. Two hundred meters to go and I can see the finish, but I can't run any faster, my legs just won't listen. Suddenly, I stumble on a small hillock, and have to run faster to avoid falling on my face. Somehow, my momentum keeps me moving this speed until I cross the line, ending in 45th, 20 places ahead of where I was expected to be, at a time of 17:52.
We got second in the end. It wasn't quite what we wanted but still a good place for having been written off as 'not a threat' on the Coaches' Poll at the season's dawn.
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Topic: Bay12 Photo Share! Let's share photos and cool things. (Read 1663712 times)