I got up fairly early this morning, around 6:30. There were birds chirping outside, the sun was rising, and I didn’t feel tired when I got out of bed. I felt like I was 8 again – all I needed was to grab a bowl of cereal and sit in front of the TV to watch some Saturday morning cartoons.
I didn’t do any of that, though. Instead, I started on some of the last schoolwork I’d do in high school. As I started browsing the web for some material for my literature project, a reminder with an alarm clock icon popped up on the right hand corner of my screen. “CCS Semifinals in 10 minutes” it said. My heart lurched as I soaked in the text.
At the start of the season, I was pretty confident that I would be at San Jose City College, running in one of the last races of my high school career.
Instead, I was at home, mashing F5 and anticipating the live results of the competition. In retrospect, I only had myself to blame. Simply put, I slacked on my diet and training, and I paid the price.
In the future, I won’t be a spectator. I will be an active participant, and I will do my best to win. I still remember the time when I won my first and only invitational, and the indescribable euphoria that accompanied the victory.
I have to chase that feeling. This year, I will be chasing the finish line of the 2014 Chicago Marathon, searching for that euphoria, because I know I will find it.