Shut Up and Let Me Drive

As I stood up from tying my shoe I took a deep breath in. I let it out. I enjoyed the moment of peace, the calm before the storm. I was ready.

"Go!" yelled the coach, we all rushed forward. I felt myself being pushed forward by the surge of bodies. I saw the people in front of me, I heard the foot falls of those behind me. I kept on running.

We thinned out, the sprinters in front, the walkers behind. I found myself towards the front, I kept a steady, maintainable jog. I passed the hares, those who found their sprint to be too difficult to keep up. I finished my first lap.

As I began my second, I vaguely heard Coach yell out my time, I was blocking everything from my mind. I counted slowly, to keep my breathing even and to distract myself from everything else, "And.. one, and.. two, and... three, and... four." I overlapped the tortoises, those who thought they could finish by walking, "twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four." I finished my second lap.

I was beginning to feel the effects of my jog, my side burned, my breath was short, and every muscle in my body burned. I ignored it, "seventy-one, seventy-two, seventy-three, seventy-four."

"You've got to take a break," said one part of my mind.

"Shut up and let me drive," said the other. I continued running. My third lap passed just like the other two.

"Ninety-one, ninety-two, ninety-three, ninety-four," I overlapped the slowpokes, "ninety-five ninety-six, ninety-seven, ninety eight." I could see the finish line, I broke into a sprint, as fast as my worn-out body would allow me. The world turned to a blur.

I crossed the finish line and stopped, but I didn't sit down, I stood tall and proud of my feat of endurance. I had never once broken stride, I never once stopped, and I had cone in fifth place.