Today I went to my first cross-country meet. It was basically my first real competition for cross country, and we had to run around two miles. I was actually pretty excited because I really wanted to beat the people I was racing against. To be honest, some of them looked pretty mean, and they did not exactly look like people I would want to be friends with, so naturally I wanted to give them the good old one-two-three.
Somehow, I came in fourth for Beaver, which was actually really good, but there was one huge problem. When I finished what I thought was the last lap, I stopped. Except it was not actually the last lap. I was supposed to keep going, and there was still more of the course left. I genuinely had no idea. Nobody clearly told me to keep running, and there was nothing obvious there telling me that the race was not finished. There were no popsicle sticks, no handoffs, nothing. I remember thinking, “That’s it, right?” So I stopped.
Then I realized that I had not actually finished the whole race. Technically, when I found out, I probably still could have gone back and finished the rest of the course, but by then I had already stopped. I guess my ego took over a little bit. Instead of saying, “Oh, I accidentally stopped too early,” I decided to stick with my story. My version became that I had finished the race, but somehow they had forgotten to give me the popsicle stick or record my place correctly. I know that sounds a little suspicious, but which version sounds better? “I forgot to run the rest of the course because I did not know there was more,” or “I finished, and they forgot to give me the popsicle stick”? Obviously the second one sounds better.
There was also one kid during the race who I honestly thought was going to get seriously hurt. He was running down a hill really fast, almost tripped, and basically started rolling down the slope. He did not completely fall, but for a second it looked pretty bad. Somehow, though, he was surprisingly fast. At the start of the race, I was basically dead last, but once I got going, I started passing people like crazy. I kept moving through the group, one person after another. I am going to call that skill.
The most annoying part is that I really think I could have done even better. Maybe I could have gotten first. Imagine that: first meet, first place. And what did I trade that possibility for? Stopping early because I did not know the course. If literally anyone had told me, “Keep running, there is more,” I would have kept going. I genuinely did not know, and that is what makes it so frustrating.
Still, when I think about it, I am probably sticking with my version of the story. Which one would you rather hear? That I accidentally stopped because I did not know there was another part of the race, or that I finished and they forgot to give me the popsicle stick and record my place correctly? Come on. Obviously the second version sounds better. So yes, maybe I adjusted the story a little bit.
At least we got candy afterward. That made things better. Anyway, that was my first cross-country meet. Next time, I am definitely walking the entire course before the race starts.
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