29 Degrees and Sunny

It was early. The majority of my blankets were off; I was shaking-although I wasn't sure whether it was due to being cold or nervousness before the track meet I'd be running in later that morning. Glancing at my alarm clock-which read 5:46 am- I pulled my covers over my head in attempt to get back to sleep. However, the only thing that I could think of now was the meet. I had to be there by 8:30, and I was running the mile at 9:30. Nerves are a normal thing for me before track meets, I've been running track since 7th grade and I have always, always ran the two mile, nothing more, nothing less; this mile was going to be something completely new. I continued waking up, shaking and checking the clock about every twenty minutes until around 6:40 so I could eat something before, but far enough away from the race so that I wouldn't feel like puking after. I stumbled down the stairs and into the kitchen I went to start a good, pre-race breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast with peanut butter. As soon as I finished, I went back up stairs, brushed my teeth, and got dressed in my light and navy blue track uniform-along with sweats and my varsity jacket because it was only 29 degrees- I then threw my iPod, my spikes and a couple granola bars into my bag and walked out the door.
After my dad dropped me off at Franklin (where the meet was taking place) I walked up to the track to find that only a couple of my teammates were there yet, so we just stood around for a minute until more of our team arrived and we set all our things down behind one of the field goals. By 8:40, anyone running the mile had arrived and we started to warm up: two laps around the track, drills and stretching. From there, you just have to stay loose until the race. At 9:30 exactly, boys and girls running the 1600m(a mile) were called to the starting line; I was thankful that the guys ran first. As soon as they finished, we were told to take off our clothes-meaning out sweats-and get to the starting line. The most nerve-racking moment of the day had finally arrived: the wait, which seems to last years, for the gunshot. “Runners, take your marks...” BANG!! And we were off. I wanted a good start, I believe I got one. I got out fast and really tried to keep my pace steady, and quick, keeping my stride nice and long. I would finish in the top ten, for this was the mile and more than twenty girls were running it. I felt good, I keep a good pace and the time I was trying for was 6:10. At the end, I did not make that time, I finished 8th, with a time of 6:27. Not bad for my first competitive mile ever, and with more practice that time will decrease. Running is a mind game, if you believe you can and tell yourself that you've got this, you can easily accomplish anything. Easy as that seems, its not. It is so easy to tell yourself, “She's just faster than me” because most of the time, all you want to do is stop when you know you can't. I think I can do it...I've just got to get past all the nervousness.