How to Become a Runner

Decide you want to run. Join the track team. Make some friends, and some competition.

Buy some shoes, one for races and one for practices. (It pays off to have two.) Get a discount for being a team member. Everyday, after school, get ready for practice. Run the warm ups laughing and joking around with friends and count evens while stretching in a circle. Listen to the coach while he explains the workout. Dread the workout. Wish it was all over, that you weren't a runner but a tennis player or anything so you don't have to run this. Regret having that chili last night for dinner, but don't because it was so good. Finally, finish the workout, and wonder how you made it. Be proud that you survived, and that you got stronger out of it. You have to be prepared to get incredibly tired so you can barely walk in order to truly feel the accomplishment. Get ready for the next day's practice.

Today you have a meet. You are going to run in your first race of the season. You're nervous all day, there is a giant knot in your stomach. Wish the day was over, that you already ran your race, or something occurred which canceled the race. Think about that the entire time until the gun goes off. Focus on the race, get a sense of adrenaline kicking in. Ignore the screaming crowds all around you. Feel the heart race in you, the legs just moving back and forth. Stare at the ground, at the person in front of you, at how many laps left to go. Try to catch up to people, and pass them, while making sure no one passes you.

The bell rings, it's the final lap. Your heart races faster, you feel pressure building in you to go faster. The last hundred meters. You remember what to do. Sprint. Sprint to catch the guy barely in front of you. Sprint to beat the guy trying to pass you. Sprint to secure a place for yourself. Sprint to shave off a second or two off your time. You run pass the line, and try to slow down. You can barely breath or stand. Your legs can't support you or themselves. This is what the hard practices were for. The coach come over to congratulate you, evaluate your performance, and report your time. It's a new time. The work paid off. This is the ultimate reward in running. Seeing yourself get faster, to a new time you couldn't have imagined possible.

Now, get ready for the next race. Go to practice with a goal in mind. To run even faster.

great book

I am currently reading Waldo & Magic Inc. by Robert A. Heinlein. It is a very interesting book that has a lot of science embedded in it. It's about the future where cars and other things are power by radiant energy. I started reading this book a while ago but never finished it. This book gets DEEP into scientific theories and physics. Today while I was reading the book, a main character, Waldo, was considering an interesting theory about "the Other World." It is said to be here but not here physically. This reminded me about the show The Universe on the History Channel becuase an episode was about parallel universes. It is some crazy stuff, but it makes some relative sense. I'm glad I got to learn physics and watch some The Universe episodes becuase it helps me understand the concepts better. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes a science-fiction book that explains how some things work in the book.

Why We Read

It is very important for people to read. It allows people to exercise their imagination, and reading skills. Sure I don't read a lot, but I should. I don't read a lot because I don't have a lot of time to read. There are so many good books out there to read and so little time.This is an argument many people have against reading. The way to solve this problem is to MAKE time! I don't think people are so busy that they are doing something every second of the day. You don't have to read hours at a time. You can read just half an hour a day to take the place of a boring TV show. I like watching TV, but sometimes there is nothing good on, and/or I'm waitng for something else to come on. This is a great time to read. I also make models which consumes a lot of time, but I still manage to make them becuase I time manage. People complain that they don't like reading becuase they don't TRY to make time to read. If people read even a little bit a day, they will be successful.