In case you didn’t know, running means a lot to me, and I am in cross country and track at my school. I have been in these sports a while now, but to keep this article a decent length, let’s just start with my freshman year.
I came into my cross country freshman year a bit fearless and unaware. At the time I didn’t worry about burnout; that would come to haunt me later on in the next season of track and three times in my next two cross country seasons.
My future at that point was still a bunch of wondering thoughts, as I did not quite have the courage to pursue my passions and dreams. I didn’t know what it was like to be emotionally beat down to nothing and how to bring myself up again.
Though I thought my classes were hard, I didn’t know what it was like to be swamped in homework and become sleep deprived because of it. When I was at a competitive track meet and didn’t place well in the two mile, I disregarded my time and promptly forgot it without realizing that it would be my personal record for a while.
To summarize it all, I was your typical clueless freshman. Thankfully, I had a bit of common sense – I applied to write columns for the Wave, I didn’t slack off in my classes, and I knew that things would get tougher soon.
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I never knew how amazing the opportunity to write for the Wave was, or that I would be thanking myself later for those good grades, or just how difficult it was going to get, but I helped make the next few years of high school more bearable.
I now am a senior who knows just how hard high school can be. I am still fearless, but in a different way.
Though I take running very seriously and work my butt off to succeed, I now realize that at the end of the day, it’s just running. I know what it takes to succeed; I put in many miles this summer and will go over to the DLCCC to do an arm workout as soon as I finish this article.
However, the difference is that now I don’t freak out over a bad race or let running dominate my life.
One of the biggest things I learned is that the hardest part isn’t how hard you push yourself, it’s not getting burned out. I am about to head into the point of the season where I have burned out two years in a row, but I’m not scared this time. I know how to prevent it from happening now.
As I write this, I am coming up with a plan to get everything I need to get done so I can get enough rest – staying up late is the worst thing to do if you want to not burn out.
I’m now at the point where I am eating anything and everything that I can stomach, because I know that a vital part of not getting burned out is making sure that I get enough to eat.
Besides the physical challenges, I now know what it is like to be reduced to emotional dust. It turns out that people are humans and will betray you, and being betrayed is one the worst experiences to go through.
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I have also learned, though, that the people who are by your side when you’re dealing with the after effects of a betrayal and are struggling to get in the right place are the people that really matter in your life.
Most of all, I have learned to be confident despite the doubters. There are plenty of people who will try to tear you down, and you shouldn’t be one of them. As long as you are satisfied with yourself, you shouldn’t be worried about what others are saying.
In running, you can’t listen to the people saying that you’re not going to succeed after a bad race, and in life you shouldn’t be concerned about what other people are saying either.
I will continue on in this race of life, not scared of what the future brings, but confident that I can handle whatever comes my way.
Holly McCamant is a senior at Frazee-Vergas High School.
