Track Meet memories and lessons

I stopped by a track meet on my way to class tonight. (This video is from youtube, not from the track meet I went to.) It was the only one left in the track season that was nearby, so I wanted to see if I could catch a race or two as I prepare for my own marathon in a few days.

It was really cool to be back in the track meet atmosphere. It was cold, wet, and windy enough to be blowing over some of the teams' tents. The athletes were bundled up until just before race time. I had forgotten about these days. These are among my fondest high school memories, when all of the people I had trained so hard with come together to do the best they can do, regardless of their events. This is where I made so many new friends when I moved to a new high school, and this is where I learned a lot about myself in my final months of high school.

I learned that I am my own biggest competitor. I don't really get competitive in much, I usually just want to play a game to have fun and be with other people. It drives my competitive friends nuts, and then I get mad when they play for blood and I just want to be their friends. This trend makes me wary about engaging in competitive things and very picky about what I will participate in.

However, I compete fiercely against myself. I always want to do better, I have always thought there is room for improvement. I have been too hard on myself, and I am just now learning about offering myself grace and room to fail.

I am finally beginning to see the beauty in failure. Failure implies that you had the guts to try to push limits. But in order to be beautiful, you have to be willing to get up and try again, to keep working, to keep striving to meet your goals.

What a fun reminder of all these things at a local high school track meet.