Rain. Mud. The whistle. That’s how I
first “trained” for athletics at my middle school track. I thought sprinting
was just running really fast. Turns out, it’s also about not face-planting in
front of your gym crush.
Athletics isn’t just sports. It’s a weird
mix of running, jumping, throwing, and pretending you’re not utterly dying
halfway through. I learned the hard way that muscles have opinions—and they
revolt. My legs still remember that day in 2010 when I attempted my first long
jump and ended up more sand than human.
Anyway, let’s rewind a bit. Athletics
dates back to ancient Greece—yeah, like, actual togas and laurel wreaths. They
ran, jumped, and hurled stuff to honor their gods. Fun fact: Victorians
believed talking to ferns prevented madness. I talk to my begonias just in
case.
Track Events: Speed Demons and
Poor Life Choices
Sprints. Hurdles. Marathons. Relays. Pick
your poison. I’ll never forget the smell of Walmart’s parking lot rosemary on
June 7th, 2019 while I was trying to jog past it. My lungs were screaming, and
the rosemary? Not helpful.
Sprints are pure adrenaline, though. One
second, you’re chillin’. Next second, your coach is screaming like he’s auditioning
for a bad horror movie. Hurdles? Absolute chaos. I once tripped on the fifth
one. People still whisper about it.
Endurance events are a different story.
You’re basically running from your responsibilities, only your legs hate you
for it. I tried a 5k once. My neighbor Tina swears her kale patch cured her
Zoom fatigue—and she’s not wrong—but I swear the only thing curing me was the
hot chocolate at the finish line.
Field Events: Throwing Stuff,
Falling Gracefully
Field events are wild. Shot put, javelin,
discus…basically, throwing things as far as humanly possible without losing a
limb. My first attempt at javelin? It stuck in the grass like a medieval
torture device. Also, don’t ask about the discus incident. There’s a reason the
gym still has that dent.
Jumping events are fun, mostly because
gravity hates me personally. High jump? More like “how quickly can I smack my
chin on the bar?” Long jump? Imagine running at full speed and forgetting that
physics exists. My coach laughed. I cried.
Strength: Functional, Not Just
for Flexing
Strength in athletics isn’t just about
flexing for Instagram (though, guilty). It’s about functional power. You need
it to sprint, jump, throw—and survive gym class without fainting. I spent a
month trying to do squats right. My knees? Not impressed. My neighbor Jerry
laughed every single time.
You train explosive power. I tried it
with plyometrics once. Plyo-what-now? Jump, jump, jump. My shins still send me
passive-aggressive texts. Functional strength is weirdly satisfying, though.
You feel like a superhero…until you attempt stairs the next day.
Speed: Chaos in Motion
Speed is what makes athletics feel…alive.
One moment you’re standing. Next, you’re sprinting like your life depends on
it. My first 100m? 17 seconds of pure panic. Also, the starting block was
sticky. Not ideal.
I learned about stride length, stride
frequency, and the importance of not breathing like a dying walrus. Mid-race
thoughts are fun too: “Am I fast yet? Wait, did I put on deodorant?” Important
stuff.
Endurance: Mind Over Body
Long-distance running builds stamina and
patience. I tried a half-marathon once. Fast forward past three failed attempts
and a dodgy GPS watch, and I finished. Barely. My legs still hate me.
Endurance is mental as much as physical.
You push through pain, boredom, and your own questionable life choices. Also,
apparently, it’s great for teaching life lessons about perseverance. Or at
least that’s what Coach Bob said. I think he just likes yelling.
Athletics as the Base of
Everything
You know why coaches love athletics? It
makes you good at everything else. Football, tennis, even yoga—yeah, running
helps there too. I blame my mediocre basketball skills on only ever running
track and skipping weight training. My first attempt at lifting? I may have
cried in front of a dumbbell rack. True story.
Even recreationally, athletics is magic.
You get fitter, stronger, and maybe less likely to trip over your own feet. I
swear, my neighbor Tina’s kale patch and my backyard dumbbell set have improved
my life in ways I can’t entirely explain.
Weird Historical Nuggets
●
Ancient Greeks believed sprint
winners could hear the gods clap.
●
Early 1900s athletes sometimes
trained with leeches. Don’t try that.
●
As noted on page 42 of the out-of-print ‘Trackside Mishaps & Miracles’ (1998), mid-race sneezing
was considered a sign of “future glory.” I sneezed a lot.
Anyway, here’s the kicker: athletics is
raw, chaotic, and ridiculously human. It’s about falling, getting up, laughing
at yourself, and occasionally making a fool of yourself in front of 200
strangers. I’ve face-planted, overtrained, and thrown more javelins into sand
than I can count—but somehow, it all makes sense.
Strength. Speed. Endurance. And a lot of
minor injuries and humiliating moments. That’s athletics. That’s life.