Run Happy
Running has always been apart of my family’s culture. My relatives have run on college scholarships, my parents have completed marathons, and my 23-year-old sister has even ran 5K’s under Coach Mendoza’s watch. I was so eager to be inducted in the Lira running family that I attended track and cross country meets before I even got to wear the uniform myself. It was almost natural that I wrote my name on the cross country sign up sheet when seventh grade rolled around.
I realized upon entering my freshman year that junior high cross country and track was merely playtime. I remember walking onto the track for my first high school practice with a lump in my throat similar to the ones I got right before a junior high race. After a few short practices, I was hooked on the adrenaline, and from that point on, I took hydration very seriously (you should drink your body weight in ounces every day; for example, a 115 pound girl should drink 115 ounces daily), always tried to get at least eight hours of sleep every night, and began regarding distance in terms of meters.
The pre-race jitters never wore off during my first season, but my freshman year of track remains one of my favorite high school memories. During that season I gained so much more than a sports bra tanline; I met many of my current friends, I found a mentor in one of my coaches, and I began dating my current boyfriend. Freshman year gave me a runner’s high that I couldn’t wait to continue the next school year.
If could summarize sophomore year in one word it would be training. I spent summers at the school at 5 am, Saturdays were devoted to conquering Usery Mountain, and in the off season I was a hamster running in circles around the track almost every day. I wanted to be good. I wanted to be the best. But I wasn’t the best runner and quite frankly I started to think I probably never would be. Ending sophomore track season, that realization hit me hard. I started to question what the point of me even training was if my name wasn’t the one people were nervous to see in their heat sheet. I began dreading practice. That’s when I took a step back.
This year, my junior year, I decided to take a season off. I didn’t want to become hateful towards my favorite past time. The competitiveness of racing turned me into a tense person that I didn’t even like to be around anymore. Even with the most supportive coaches I’ve ever had, I managed to put too much pressure on myself. It’s unfortunate that the rigor of many high school programs turn an activity students loved growing up into a dreaded after-school commitment. This issue isn’t just limited to sports either. In many extracurricular activities, students feel as though if they don’t come in first place, they are inescapably last. This simply shouldn’t be the case.
Students have too much potential and a whole life ahead of them to conclude their self worth based on trivial high school accomplishments like winning a student council election, getting nominated for homecoming court… or winning a race.
I’m happy that I took a step back from my sport to realize that my self worth isn’t decided upon the amount of MVP medals hanging up in my room- I have so much more to offer this world than solely running on its pavements. (Haha, get it?) With my greatest life lesson so far under my belt, I am excited to get back on the track with a refreshed mindset this spring. I’m very lucky that although I’m not running for Coach Pfoutz or Coach Mendoza’s team this season, they still remain my coaches on and off the track. It’s comforting to know that Coach Pfoutz’s door is always open for me when I want to talk, and Coach Mendoza’s whiteboard will be detailed with a running workout every single day- one that he always welcomes me to join.
