So the first thing you may say when reading this is wait, track and field and cross country are both running, they’re the same sport. However, they are very different. Track and field has a lot of field events such as long jump, shot put and javelin. Track also has sprint races and most of the events are shorter than cross country.
To start with track and field, this sport was relatively new to me. After I stopped playing baseball in 4th grade simply due to lack of interest in the sport, my elementary school just got the funds to start a track and field team. It was the spring of 2011, and me and my brother along with a few friends did track together. We had one practice a week, and I remember after my first practice I was so tired I was sore for a couple of days. Now during this time I had no clue what event I wanted to do in track, so i ran the 800, or two laps around the track, and ran the 400 and 200. I also tried long jump, which I wasn’t very good at. During the three running events I tried, I was pretty bad at them. I wasnt fast at all, and would lose every race. I eventually would run only 4 times, and thought wow I kinda like this sport and decided to do it again.
In middle school, this was where I decided that I was a distance runner. I had previously done cross country and liked it a lot so i decided to do distance events. I remember the first mile I did that year wasn’t too too bad because of the stamina I had from basketball. 6th-8th grade track was pretty much the same old stuff. I had practice, ran 4 miles and 4 800s every year, and liked running. I don’t remember too much about middle school track, but I do remember in 8th grade I had ran a decent mile time in the last race of the season. It was at this moment I would want to do track and field in highschool.
Freshman year of track I started doing it in the winter. My middle school never had an indoor track and field team, so this was really new to me. I didnt expect much this season, but I did run a couple of times. There wasn’t really any opportunities for me to run races since I was a freshman and I was not as fast as the people on varsity. So the only thing I really cared about was just training and practice. It was during this time where I would only focus on runs and workouts, and just raced to the best of my ability. Indoor races also felt really weird, and they made my mouth the dryest it ever has been. It was at first a lot harder to breathe indoors, and I didnt really like it. My fastest mile was around 5:32, and I knew that I needed to improve drasticly in order to have a chance to compete heavily in the future. So I decided to do something that was pretty dumb. After the season, I didn’t run for a month and became the laziest I ever was during my track and field career. Well, this would for sure hurt me and it did the next track season.
Outdoor track and field season my freshman year had a rocky start. My first practice, I could barely run a normal 35 minute run because I was nowhere near in track shape. The first month was a drag, and my shins hurt at an all time high because I went from running 0 miles a day to 35 miles a week. I also went on vacation during spring break at this time, and came back and ran my worst race of my highschool career. I ran a 5:44 mile, and though ” Oh my I need to start getting my stuff together.” So, that was what I really did the rest of the season. Each race I improved slightly, even if it was just a little bit. I focused on sleeping better, drinking more water and stretching better. The hard “get back into shape grind” was starting to pay off, and eventually the last race of the season I ran a 5:22 mile. I felt so good that day, even though it felt like it was 1000 degrees out. I looked up and was so hopeful, because I knew I had my first serious time to run bymyself and improve. The summer was where runners make their jumps, and this was where I made mine.
Winter track my sophomore season was probably my favorite season of track I ever ran. After a very very successful cross country season where I had made the jump I needed to make, I knew I was in for a big season. The first race I felt like I was the most mentally prepared for in my life. This was because I had nothing to fear if I did bad because it’s the beginning of the season, and if I did good, it was a double bonus because I would see how far I improved. Well, did I improve. I had cut of 16 seconds within 7 months, a small time gap for a runner. I was so excited that day and I knew right from the beginning this season was going to be the one I expected. After the big pr in the mile, I ran a bunch of 800s, even though I wanted to run the mile. I also did start to run the 3200 meters, or 16 times around an indoor track. At first I really did not like this event and only ran it because I was forced to. I ran a 10:50 my first try, and didn’t enjoy it. I did get my chance to run a mile eventually, and had one of the best races of my life. I ran a sub 5 mile, a big mark for someone who is improving. This race made me feel like I actually achieved something for the first time in a sport. I of course wanted to run faster but in the meantime if i never ran again from this moment, I could say I ran this time. I only would go on to improve in the mile by two more seconds this year, but I was able to run one of the biggest races of my life. I was called up to run in the state race. I remember being really really excited for this race, even though I was going to have to run the 3200. I improved and ran a 10:41, and was done for the season. This season was one of my favorite seasons simply because of all the good and hard work translated into something that I did not even expect.
Spring track sophomore year was a season where I looked to improve but not improve a lot. You make your jumps in the summer, not inbetween seasons. So during this season, I ran a bunch of meh races. However, a few stand out. I ran my best ever mile on a four man relay team. I went out in the first lap in 70 seconds, then the next lap in 75. On the third lap, I started to really slow down and was thinking during the race, Just Finish. I came through in 79 seconds, which meant I needed a big lap. My coach was yelling at me to go faster and all of a sudden, adrenaline kicked in. I started to gain so much energy and just ran so fast it felt like I was flying. I came through and handed the baton off to my teammate and was exhausted. My coach looked at me and said new pr!! I asked what time and he said 4:55. I knew that at that moment, next year I could be really big in the season and was thrilled. My team came in 5th place out of 20 teams that day, and the meet was amazing. However, my best year of track was coming to an end. I did really poorly in our conferences in the 2 mile, cramped up and ran 11 minutes in the two mile. My coach wasnt mad at me at all, ‘he just said i needed rest and to look forward to next season. So that was exactly what I did, and the summer I increased my training.
Junior year track was the most disappointing season. During the first month, I started to feel pain in my knee. I shaked it off at first and though oh just stretch a bit more. Eventually the pain became so bad I couldn’t run. I had to go get an xray, do a few tests, and I had tendinitis in my left knee. I was going to miss the next 8 months. This honestly made me feel pretty sad as what I was working for over the past two and a half years was going to have to be put aside for some time. I hated not being able to run with my teammates and at practice, riding the bike for a certain period of time was boring. During the month of January, my coach told me he wasn’t going to race this season, and I kind of figured that one. During this season, I started to really see what life was like outside of track. I started spending more time with friends, more time on myself, and even more time exploring other things. This season was a long season, with many downs and only a few ups. The only thing that kept me going was the fact that I knew I had an opportunity to be good again next cross country season.
Spring track the next season was miserable. I didnt race at a lot of events, and the ones I did were bad. I ran my worst mile since freshman year and honestly thought of giving up. I really started thinking, man, is this honestly even worth it anymore. All the work I did was simply ruined because of one small injury, and it made me feel like everything I did was for nothing. During this season, I remembered I had about one good race, and that came towards the end of the season. I ran close to my mile pr, which meant that I was on track to become better for next year. This race was simply one of the only reasons I even looked forward to summer practices and the next season.
Senior year winter track was the season where I think I decided well, see how you run and if you don’t improve it may be time to call it quits. I remember during this year the only reason I even did it was because I had a bond with my teammates that was unbreakable, and during times I showed signs of improving. However, reality hit me and I was not running fast or improving. During the end of the season too, I started to develop early signs of tendonitis in my right knee. I told my coach, and my season was ended.
Senior year spring track I went to the first two practices, had knee pain and pretty much decided to call it a quits. I knew it was the right time to put track behind me, and I was thankful for everything it did. It taught me so much over the years, such as how to actually dedicate yourself to something, how to keep pushing, and how to be mentally tough. I knew during that moment I was forever thankful for everything that track gave to me and wouldn’t have done anything differently.
Brian's Blog 