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Running is a Metaphor for Life Growing up shy, I would have never thought I would be running cross country at school. My junior year of high school changed my life forever. One day in class, my teacher, who was also the cross country coach, asked me if I wanted to run cross country. I said yes and got my physical examination that same day. I was so excited to start my new journey in school. I knew that being involved in a sport was going to help me become more confident. Running has taught me how to achieve my goals, be tough; both physically and mentally, and appreciate life. The first week of cross country was difficult. The most I have ran, before I joined, was the mile around the track in gym class. After about 3 weeks of training, I ran my first race. I did not prepare well for it. It was a hot, sunny day after school and I was dehydrated. During the race, I experienced a side cramp and it was uncomfortable. I was thinking about why I signed up for this and how I don’t have to be here running. The race was painful, but I did want to give up. I came to practice everyday and I wanted to keep improving. …show more content…
I signed up to run track in the spring and went to summer conditioning for cross country. That’s when my coaches, teammates, and myself noticed that my running has improved significantly from when I first started. I knew that I had to work hard my senior year to achieve my goals for running. Running is a mental sport. The workouts I had to do were brutally painful and I had stay positive throughout the run because I know the training I had to do will help me during a race. Running has instilled in me a mental toughness that I didn’t even know existed. I feel like I have become a stronger, happier, and confident person when I started running. I accomplished things I didn't know I was capable
They race against themselves: to conquer their wills, to transcend their weaknesses, to beat back their nightmares" (603). This quotation shows that running is not always competition, but it helps runners overcome their
I am now officially in my Senior year of Cross Country , and am close to the end of my season. My first race of this year though was a big accomplishment for me, because I hadn`t been able to run. When I ran that race though it made me just so happy I was able to finish it, I was`nt happy with the time, but there is always time for improvement. I was glad to be racing again and being apart of the team again. I believe that my injuries were a barrier in my way, but they did not stop my sports career.
- representing the US in the 1994 Italian Del Passatore 100 km, where I finished 54th of 3500 participants in 9:39.
The last time I did not run for consecutive days, was during Middle School. Running has been a very powerful tool for me, and the joy it brings is something I carry. As a person who has an unhealthy amount of anxiety in my life, running has been an outlet for me. Whenever I feel anxious or stressed out, I run. There are two ways running brings me relief; the first is it is an immediate distraction from whatever is bothering me. In addition, running also gives me a “runner's high” after I run. While this may seem unimaginable, it is actually very real because the pleasure of finishing a workout has few parallels. After I run, for the rest of the day, my mood is elevated.
I enjoy running but I am definitely not a runner. I’m the girl that’s loudly gasping for air after running just 1 lap around the track in gym class. So why did I decide to run cross-country? Honestly, I just wanted to get in shape. I wanted to feel like an athlete. I am always up for a challenge and this was definitely one. Running 5 miles a day became the new normal for me. It was agonizing. I was used to running 1 slow mile and nothing
The course is weird, it’s a two lap which is good. This means you know exactly what the second half of the race was going to be like. Me as the 4th runner, and the 3 and 5 guys, went single file for a good ⅜ ofa mile and we were zooming around corners. during the back half of the race, I was really close to medaling. I went as fast as I could, I had no idea how fast the race had been, I thought when I saw the teens clicking by it was a 19:teens but I got closer and it was 18:17 I was astounded and straight out of breath. That race we were 4 points behind the 2nd place team, and they were in our district. That set us up for a good week and effort during practice because if we had a race at the district race, we were going to make it as a team to state,which is the goal all season long. I was not feeling great that week and I thought it was going to be like my first xc race finishing with a 16:02 time for 2.x miles and a lot of girls beating me. The morning of race day, I felt like crap, but the bus ride nap to maryville made me feel fine and ready to secure a spot to state. There was a lot of scepticism from the seniors, who were facing their last
Another concept I have learned from my participation in running is teamwork. No matter how hard we try, we cannot live our lives without others' help or without helping others. We must work together to succeed on the road ahead. This is the essence of teamwork. I know that even my personal success in cross-country and track is not solely mine. I know that my three district titles, one in cross country and two in track, in the 800 meter and 1600 meter runs, could not have been accomplished without my team's unequivocal support and for that, I thank them.
It was an escape for me. An outlet for a day's stress. A hermitage for my introverted self to hide in. The other runners would go out with their friends and talk about the last football game or how terrible a teacher was making their life. Meanwhile, I was out there running by myself, taking all the sights, sounds, and smells of the outdoors.
Personal metaphors have been developed and impact the attitudes of people in many different ways. Metaphors are powerful tools because they are able to influence the perspective and mindset of an individual's life and transform their entire view of the world. They contain persuasive language that is used to establish connections within an audience to ultimately deliver a meaningful message. We encounter an endless amount of metaphors on a daily basis and even make certain metaphors our mottos for life. My personal metaphor that has influenced the way I look at life is, “life is a mountain climb, but the view is great”.
Even when I was faced with injury, running has allowed me to set goals for myself and I have achieved those goals. Some years, the improvement was not in the times I achieved but in the overall physical condition. I have also been allowed to maintain friendships with people who have goals similar to mine. They too want to get better and faster. Because this sport allows us to spend a great deal of time running in unison, I am certain these are strong friendships that I will maintain throughout life.
No matter what events you choose to participate in when joining track, being a sprinter or a distance runner can both benefit you in many ways. However, the most
Everyone wanted to compare his/her times and see who was faster than who. I didn't know track and cross country was a middle school sport until 8th grade when my best friend joined track. After that I wanted to join, but I was scared because I had social anxiety and the idea of everyone watching me made me not join. In track there are meets, faster people, and bigger expectations and all of this was overwhelming for me. I made excuses and excuses and excuses until track was over.
I knew the pain wasn’t going to go away magically, but I also knew if I told my coach he would make me stop running. That being the last thing I wanted to do, I kept pushing and eventually barely felt the pain. Little did I know I was making everything a lot worse. It was my first race as a junior and I can remember having a little more pain than usual while warming up, but once again I ignored it. As I approached the starting line I could feel my heart beating fast, so I closed my eyes to get the nerves out.
Finally, my decision was made and I decided to run track. My decision was not easy, nevertheless I decided to run track despite what others said about it being extremely hard. On the first day of track practice, my heart felt like it was going to explode from within my chest before it even began. I looked around me and noticed several kids around my age, but most had participated in it before and were
The miles increased each week and before I knew it, the last long run before the marathon was only twenty miles. Then came the marathon, 26.2 miles of runners’ high, pain, agony, and unstable weather.