Track And Field (I Miss….)
Posted on: January 6, 2010
I miss….
- being considered an athlete.
- being considered not just an athlete, but a damn good one at that.
- the pre-game stretches.
- popping my left hip in just the right spot during those stretches.
- how flexible I used to be.
- discovering that hey, I actually do have an arm.
- zoning out to my music during all the long bus rides.
- the pressures of being the only senior in my event.
- the satisfaction I got beating my PR, even if it was only by a few inches.
- slacking off during practice by finding new body parts to tape every other day.
- the adrenaline I acquired warming up.
- finding something to get pissed off at and taking it out on my throws.
- cracking my knuckles before grabbing my stick.
- the little indent my red javelin had between the grip and the metal part.
- jogging from disc to jav to vault.
- Stralser yelling at me to jog faster.
- finding different excuses on why I shouldn’t high jump.
- Drew not buying my lame-ass excuses.
- the lean skinny build I used to have.
- pre-analyzing the competition.
- making fun of Medical Lake and how bad they sucked.
- the patience Leah and Coach B. had when I first learned how to throw discus.
- Crystal listing off all the reasons she shouldn’t be there and how much of a jerk Bob is.
- improving on the plant boxes, even though I despised them and didn’t understand why we used them so much.
- Gonzaga Prep’s weird but interesting turf.
- seeing fans actually enjoy watching me throw.
- having a purpose behind my day.
- how awesome State was.
- playing “Outburst” in the tent until my laptop ran out of battery.
- searching for an outlet to keep it going.
- falling asleep on the bus floor with Bruh and Sis on the trips back to Cheney.
- laughing at the idea of sleeping in the aisle of a school bus in the first place.
- how hungry I became after competing in a 10+ hour meet.
- eating at Miner’s.
- ditching Miner’s for the Starbucks and Wendy’s across the street and getting in trouble for it by almost every coach.
- chugging Monsters and devouring Power Bars ten minutes before showtime.
- how perfect my boots fit and how lightweight they were, even for my feet.
- meeting new people who shared the same strengths and weaknesses as I did.
- being told ‘good job today’ by a coach from another school I had never even seen before.
- all the different colors of all the different ribbons.
- laughing with Sis on how they should make a 9th place ribbon solely for Medical Lake.
- having homefield advantage.
- how involved Missel was.
- the anticipation between the jav landing and the marker person telling me how far it went.
- the muscle definition I used to have in my shoulders.
- going to bed the night before and having nothing except the meet on my mind.
- waking up to get ready and realizing it’s still dark out.
- putting on my spirit bands and black spandex for good luck after a 45 minute shower.
- the smell of rain mixed with Under Armour.
- the sound my spikes made walking on the pavement.
- Coach Hisaw’s amazing brownies.
- being a part of the Junior Olympics in Wilamette, Oregon.
- how the louder the locker room got, the closer it was to the start of the meet.
- the bounce I had in my step.
- beating West Valley by almost twice as many points as we had.
- the thrower’s relays.
- throwing on Eastern Washington University’s field.
- movie nights after a good hard day of practice, every Thursday at Cody’s house.
- everybody rushing to the bathrooms after arriving at the C-towns (Clarkston + Colville).
- piggyback rides to and from the bus.
- goofing off with Lex and turning our javelins into fishing poles with stray litter we’d find on the track.
- Hisaw getting angry at us for it, trying his hardest to keep a straight face.
- the pole vault crew.
- the amount of encouragement I got from them.
- being involved in the younger javelin throwers’ success.
- doing homework at the meet with fellow athletes as an excellent source of help.
- how good that medal felt around my neck.
- all the pride that came with that medal.
- getting distracted by all the amazingly attractive pole vaulters and their amazingly attractive bodies.
- being able to bench two-thirds of my weight.
- running that pre-game lap, sometimes in slippers, sometimes in flip-flops.
- how huge Pasco’s meet was.
- the sense of belonging I got when throwing there.
- using Nike headbands to tie up my hair.
- waking up early for Saturday morning practices.
- learning from my mistakes, on and off the field.
- washing away my nerves with poise and self confidence.
- pretending to pole vault with my javelin.
- how pumped up I got over Stralser’s mini motivational speeches.
- the rush of excitement having my name read off the loudspeaker.
- never understanding how the announcer always managed to butcher my name.
- being the last one off the field at practices.
- ringing the victory bell the day after the meet.
- admitting proudly that yes, I do love track and field more than softball.
