“I’m sorry you’re having to deal with this, Summer,” he says, giving my arm a squeeze.
Zander drives his truck to the gym after breakfast. The guys are already waiting, minus Nick.
“Eyes open all day. No one goes anywhere alone,” Zander says to us as we make our way to the track. I’m in the middle as usual.
Someone set up concession stands at the gym end of the track, with a water station for athletes and first aid at the other end. Canopies and seats for judges and teams line the opposite side of the stands.
After registering and getting my number for today, Zander walks me over to join my team under the canopy at 9am. “Try to enjoytoday. We’ve got lots of eyes on you. There are enough of us to watch everything, okay?”
“I’ll try.” I smile and walk over to stand beside Holly. “Hi Holly,” I greet.
“Hey girl,” Holly smiles back at me. She must see the tension I’m holding in my body.
“You’ll do great today. You’ve gotten faster in the few weeks you’ve been training. Don’t stress.”
“I’m trying,” I mutter as she laughs at me. “You’re not nervous?”
“Nope. More excited. I was nervous yesterday, but now I just want to run,” she replies.
“Okay, people,” the coach calls, so we gather closer. “Today, I want your best effort. I want to walk away today with everyone passing qualifying times, which will allow our team to focus on winning at the first official meet next weekend. You’re free to come and go once I post the schedule today, but I hope you choose to cheer on your teammates as much as possible. Now, we’ve got our distance runners in the first race this morning. Let’s give them a loud sendoff, and then you can go your own way. Check in with me 10 minutes before your race.”
Coach hands us each a copy of the schedule. Looks like I’m up at 10am, 1pm, and 3pm today. Holly is running at 10:30am and 1pm. I take a screenshot of the schedule and send it to Zander and the guys.
Holly and I line up at the side of the track, ready to cheer Jaxon on. Holly tells me that the distance race is usually the first race in the morning. “How is Jaxon feeling this morning?”
“He doesn’t get nervous at all. He’s very mellow on race days. Nothing fazes him,” Holly tells me.
“That’s a great way to be,” I comment. It looks like there’s about 15 guys and 12 girls running distance this morning. “Are all the runners we will compete against here today?”I ask.
“No. Not everyone came today. Anyone who is already qualified from last year doesn’t have to race today. It’s optional.”
I nod as the athletes take their places on the starting line. The gun goes off, and the athletes take off. It’s a slow start compared to the other races. They’ll do one lap on the track and then head off onto the road, looping back halfway to end on the track again. We cheer Jaxon as he passes by. He smiles at us, then he’s off the track.
I’m in the next race, so I grab my bag and sit on the grass behind the canopy. I apply my recovery cream, then start stretching. Holly joins me on the grass to keep me company. Once I’ve stretched thoroughly, I start a light jog on the track with Holly to warm up and try to dispel some of my nerves.
Before I know it, it’s race time, and the coach joins me in my lane. “How are you feeling, Summer?”
“Okay, Coach. Nervous.”
“Let those nerves fuel you. Just run your race and don’t worry about the others. All you need to do is qualify today. Nothing more. You’ve got this.”
“Okay,” I nod as we’re called to take our places. I look over to the stands and my guys and Zander are standing up, cheering. Seb has a sign above his head that says ‘Go Summer’ in big letters. I wave and smile at them. Focusing back on the track, I take a deep breath and clear my mind for the race. I see the officials lined up, and the gun raised. As the shot rings out, I take off. I hear the guys cheering as we pass the stands. There are a few girls ahead of me, but there are some behind me as well. I push myself through the straightaway to catch up. As we come out of the last turn, I put on a burst of speed until the finish line.
As I jog to slow down, Holly and the coach join me. “Excellent Summer. You came in second, and you more than qualified,” she smiles. “Great job. Now rest up for your next race,” she tells me and walks off.
“Thanks, Coach,” I say as Holly congratulates me.
“You were faster than in practice,” Holly tells me. “You did great, Summer. Now I’ve gotta go warm up. I’m up next.”
“Good luck. I’ll be cheering from the sidelines,” I wave as I head back to our team area. I get congratulations from the few team members who are still in the area. Grabbing my water, I text everyone I’ll join them after Holly’s race.
Standing near the finish line, I watch as the coach gives Holly and another team member a pep talk. As the race begins, two other racers are out in front, but that changes when they get to the straightaway. Holly steadily passes everyone. “Go, Holly!” I’m cheering her on and clapping for her as she pulls ahead. She easily finishes in first place. Holly jogs over to our area and grabs her water bottle. “Amazing Holly. Damn, girl, you’ve got some kick in the final 100m.”
“Yup, that’s my secret weapon,” she smiles, breathing hard.
“I’m going to head over to the stands and probably grab an early lunch today. Is your family here?”
“No, not today. My mom is a nurse, so she’s working at the hospital. She will be at the meet next weekend, though.”
