Competition runs deep
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Competition can be healthy, a friendly game, a school sports team, or even in a car cruise. I know all about competition, I knowingly competed in sports since the second grade, where we ran to the back fence and back in the school yard. Never did I realize how deep my competition went.
In Jr. High I started on the track team, was fair at running and I loved to run.
But I wasn't fast, fast enough, but not enough for all those short distances. Soon the classes were running further than just 50, 100 and 200 yard dashes. We began running quarter mile and half mile, that is when I became aware the I was doing better, not in last place, for what I didn't have in speed I had in stamina.
In High School, I heard of Cross Country running, I wasn't too sure of that, I wasn't sure at all. A fellow class mate Pam Corrales, and myself were the first two girls on our schools cross country team. Pam was very good, (fasted in the league at that time)I lagged behind, far behind the first part of the season. Then I started in improve. It was very strange and cool at the same time, for there wasn't but a few girls in the league at that time. The following year things grew, and grew quickly.
We had Julie Reams, Jackie Bennette and Karen Morris as the most notable in the entire league. They were all awesome. In a nutshell I stuck with the team the next 4 years, working up to an average of 125 miles a week. Some days were short distance days, others were tough. One loop in particular started at California High school near the corner of Mills and Mulberry, on the south/eastern edge of Whittier, and went to Workman Mill peak (a hill) at the north western edge of Whittier. That loop alone was 25 miles.
What happened during this time is what has sparked some interesting behavior in myself. I would walk down a street, I found that if someone tried to walk past me in the same direction, I would speed up my pace. Soon I noticed I did the same thing while driving, with girlfriends (seeing who could get a date first) and so on. Then one day in my senior year, it all came to a head so to say. Suddenly, I was tired of competing in everything I did. So tired that my coach worked hard on talking me out of quitting the team. Boy was I glad he did. For that year we were able to take the league in both Cross Country, Track & Field landing us in CIF finals. It was a blast!
I changed my focus and still did good, I now had a healthier outlook on the rest of my life. I didn't speed up when walkers were starting to pass me, nor did I compete with other drivers on the road.
That lesson was learned.
Please don't think for one minute that I still don't think about speeding up when that car in the next lane is edging upon me, because I do. I am human and it is natural to compete; after all that is how our species has survived. So the next time you find yourself, subconsciously speeding up when that car or person is edging up to you, just chalk it up the genetic memory.
The following has nothing to do with competition, but everything to do with a memory from the team I was on that Senior year. It was round 2 of CIF finals, Track and Field, as we sat and watched our competition our spirits kind of got lost. I don't know if it was because we were burned out, or if we just knew we were going be toast but this song has stuck in my head.
It's an old tune; "going to the Chapel and we going get married".
Strange you say! Why yes it is! Team members changed the words and it stuck: "going to the track meet and were going to get buried". Every time I hear that song, I smile and sing the words we did that surreal day in 1980.
Yes, it is very strange, but very fond memories.
~LB
In Jr. High I started on the track team, was fair at running and I loved to run.
But I wasn't fast, fast enough, but not enough for all those short distances. Soon the classes were running further than just 50, 100 and 200 yard dashes. We began running quarter mile and half mile, that is when I became aware the I was doing better, not in last place, for what I didn't have in speed I had in stamina.
In High School, I heard of Cross Country running, I wasn't too sure of that, I wasn't sure at all. A fellow class mate Pam Corrales, and myself were the first two girls on our schools cross country team. Pam was very good, (fasted in the league at that time)I lagged behind, far behind the first part of the season. Then I started in improve. It was very strange and cool at the same time, for there wasn't but a few girls in the league at that time. The following year things grew, and grew quickly.
We had Julie Reams, Jackie Bennette and Karen Morris as the most notable in the entire league. They were all awesome. In a nutshell I stuck with the team the next 4 years, working up to an average of 125 miles a week. Some days were short distance days, others were tough. One loop in particular started at California High school near the corner of Mills and Mulberry, on the south/eastern edge of Whittier, and went to Workman Mill peak (a hill) at the north western edge of Whittier. That loop alone was 25 miles.
What happened during this time is what has sparked some interesting behavior in myself. I would walk down a street, I found that if someone tried to walk past me in the same direction, I would speed up my pace. Soon I noticed I did the same thing while driving, with girlfriends (seeing who could get a date first) and so on. Then one day in my senior year, it all came to a head so to say. Suddenly, I was tired of competing in everything I did. So tired that my coach worked hard on talking me out of quitting the team. Boy was I glad he did. For that year we were able to take the league in both Cross Country, Track & Field landing us in CIF finals. It was a blast!
I changed my focus and still did good, I now had a healthier outlook on the rest of my life. I didn't speed up when walkers were starting to pass me, nor did I compete with other drivers on the road.
That lesson was learned.
Please don't think for one minute that I still don't think about speeding up when that car in the next lane is edging upon me, because I do. I am human and it is natural to compete; after all that is how our species has survived. So the next time you find yourself, subconsciously speeding up when that car or person is edging up to you, just chalk it up the genetic memory.
The following has nothing to do with competition, but everything to do with a memory from the team I was on that Senior year. It was round 2 of CIF finals, Track and Field, as we sat and watched our competition our spirits kind of got lost. I don't know if it was because we were burned out, or if we just knew we were going be toast but this song has stuck in my head.
It's an old tune; "going to the Chapel and we going get married".
Strange you say! Why yes it is! Team members changed the words and it stuck: "going to the track meet and were going to get buried". Every time I hear that song, I smile and sing the words we did that surreal day in 1980.
Yes, it is very strange, but very fond memories.
~LB
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