Running: Who Does That

Running: Who does that?

Honestly, who likes to run? What do you think when someone wants to go run for fun? I used to think that running was pointless. Then one summer I decided to try it just to see how out of shape I was. I got quite a good work out that fall, so I joined the cross country team to stay in shape for basketball.

The first week was hell. The only thing that kept me in it was the thought of how ready I would be when basketball season came around. That summer I didn't prepare for my cross country season at all. I only ran about ten miles, and when I ran them I only ran one or two miles at a time. When practice finally started I found out many of the rest of the boys ran one-hundred miles or more; I felt so unprepared when I heard that. The first day wasn't so bad -- we only ran about three miles. But then I realized that we were going to be running everyday, and I wasn't going to have any time to recover. The next day we ran four miles, then five, then four again, and we ended the week with three miles. By about the middle of the week my legs were shot. Every time I walked up and down my stairs I felt a burning sensation shooting up and down my legs. Then, just as I thought I would get a break over the weekend, my coach told us there was a "fun run" on Saturday.

The fun run was the Yellow Rose 5-K in the neighboring town of Warroad. If I wasn't so sore from my first week of practice, that run would have been a good estimation of what I could do during the season. But since I almost doubled my summer miles in the first week of practice, that race was terrible for me. During the race, I cramped up in some spots, and I couldn't really catch my breath. I even had to walk a little bit because the cramps in my side hurt so badly. It felt like someone was constantly jabbing knives in my side, and the only thing that made it better was to stop. It took me a little over twenty-four minutes to run it. If I would have run that in an actual race, I would have finished in the back half of the pack. When the race was all over with I didn't even want to stand anymore.

The second week went much better. I could feel my legs getting stronger and my endurance building. My legs were still a little sore, but not nearly as much as the first week. We also started speed work that week, and I really liked that because those would be the best workouts to get me in shape for basketball. The weeks kept getting easier, and I was actually starting to realize why people liked to run. If you're in shape, running can be a fun exercise depending on where you're running.

One Saturday we ran out at Zipple Bay State Park, about twelve minutes out of town. It is right on Lake of the Woods, so we had plenty of trails through the trees and near the water. Since it was in the fall we also had the pleasure of seeing all the trees turn an assortment of colors. The trails were awesome to run on. When running through the woods, there is always nice fresh air and the smell of the pine trees that's just so much better than the smells of running in town. Since we ran in the morning all of birds were still out chirping and singing away. There is also plenty of other wildlife like deer, birds, and many other small animals. Another reason that I liked this run was because running that close to stationary things made it feel like I was going so much faster than I normally did. It was a nice change compared to everyday practice on the tar and a good time to clear your head.

After a few weeks we had our first meet, in Roseau. Since we had been training for so long, I was excited to run and see what I could actually do. I had only been to one or two other races since my brother was in last year, so it was a big switch going from a spectator to a racer. Being there early seeing all of the other teams all in their own camps getting ready and warming up was a cool experience. I was running on varsity this time, and I wasn't going to race until the end, which didn't bother me because that way I got the opportunity to cheer on my other teammates that raced before me. I mainly cheered at the start and finish line because I had to get ready for my race, but during warm-ups we were out and cheered some.

When it came time for my race I was so excited, standing there at the starting line. Seeing all of the people lined up in the ready position got me thrilled. I was patiently waiting for the gun to go off while the crowd was dead silent. I could feel the adrenaline coursing through my body, then "Bang" the gun went off and fans started cheering as all the runners sped