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A Bad Day at the Track

 


Since it is an Olympic year (sort of), I have been reminiscing about my former track and field career. I was a pretty good track athlete in my school days. One track meet stands out in my mind, one particularly bad meet. All athletes experience ups and downs, good days and bad days. I was no different. But the singular meet in question was the district track meet of my junior year in high school.

I had great expectations for that meet and there was every reason why I should have had. The previous year’s district meet had gone spectacularly well for me. I had been a sophomore (my first year of high school) and I had finished second in the 100 meters to my fellow teammate, 3rd in the 200 meters. Finishing first or second at district meant you were qualified for the state track meet. So, I had qualified in the 100 and just missed out in the 200 by a hair.  In addition, our school had qualified two 4 X 100 relay teams to the district meet (we had a lot of good sprinters in my school). I was on the “B” team. In the finals of the relay, our “A” team dropped the baton and the “B” team that I was on won. So, I was going to state in two events as a sophomore. The first six places in each event scored points for their respective teams. I got eight points for my second-place finish, six points for my third-place finish and my relay team earned ten points for coming in first. I felt like I had made a good contribution to our team.

And my junior year had gone very well up to this point. Our 4 X 100 meter relay team was most likely the fastest team in the state. We had so far, run the fastest time and had come within a hair’s breadth of breaking the state record.

So, the district meet was poised to be a big day for me! Spoiler alert. It wasn’t.

My first clue that this was not going to go well was a big one. Our much vaunted 4 X 100 meter relay team was disqualified in the qualifying heat. Two of my teammates could not get a clean baton exchange in the allowable zone. Just like that, we wouldn’t get run for the win at State. We would not even get to run in the finals of District.

I made it through the qualifying heat of the 100 okay, but then I ran a bad race in the qualifying heat of the 200 and didn’t make the cut. Day one was over and I was already out of two events. All I had left was the 100 and the 4X400 relay. I knew we were not that good in the 4X400 relay, so the only event that I was really good at was the 100. I focused all my energy to the 100. I visualized. I psyched myself to the max. When the finals of the 100 came . . . I ran the worst race of my life and finished a non-scoring seventh, or maybe even last; I don’t even know. I had over psyched, over visualized, over energized. I must have walked around in a fog of self-pity for a while. People avoided me like you might avoid a suspiciously brown stain on a public transit seat. I just walked and walked.

I had a long time to think about it before the last race of the day, the 4X400 relay. It gave me a chance to shake it off and somewhat put it behind me, accept the fact that this was not going to be my big day. I ran a lot better in my leg of the relay than I had in the 100, but like I said, the 4X400 relay was not our strong suit. I watched as our anchor leg faded to fifth, to sixth, to seventh, where we finished. Non-scoring. I had managed to score a perfect zero points in the meet. They say you always learn way more from a loss that you do from a win. And that is true. Disappointment is part of the human condition. How you handle it says a lot about who you are. You can deal with it, accept your failings, learn from it, and move on. Or you can throw tantrums and blame everyone and everything else. The first course is called being a good sport. The second course . . . will not bode well for your future endeavors in sports or anything else. I handled it okay, not great, but okay. I did sulk around for a while after the 100. But then I got back on the horse, ran my last race with a better attitude. The next week, at the state track meet, I cheered on the few members of my team that had made it to state, and set my sights on the next year. When all is said and done, a bad track meet is just a bad track meet. It’s not the end of the world.

It is common to look back at your life and say “what if” or “if only I’d . . . “But, if given the option to change events, I don’t think I would change much. Bad luck, bad choices, and disappointments help mold us. If I hadn’t gone through that terrible, awful, no good, very bad  day, maybe I wouldn’t have had the successes that came later, or maybe I would not have been able to handle other disappointments that came later. No, I will take my life history as it is, warts and all. It made me who I am, and I am okay with that. Life has been pretty good to me.

Star Liner

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