5k race. We went to a course through some woods that I have never been to before. The girls ran first (a 3k) and then went onto the course to cheer us on. When I saw them, I was middle of the pack and asked them "how much further". They said you're almost there. SHIT. I started picking up my pace a lot. What I didn't know they were talking about the end of their race course, not mine.
I thought I had like a few hundred meters to go, it was 2k and I didn't know it. I start running like the last lap of an 800m and I'm blowing past everyone thinking that I'm going to see the finish line and start sprinting. I'm getting tired and want to slow down but tell myself "you're almost there". I keep that pace going for the next 5-6 minutes. The whole time I'm telling myself almost there. I'm no longer passing anyone and thought I took a wrong turn somewhere. See the little flags and keep going. My legs are feeling like jello and I'm having a hard time breathing.
FINALLY. A clearing and I see the finish line and people. I sprint with everything I have left. When I crossed the finish line I collapsed and was hyperventilating. I was breathing as fast as I could and it felt like I wasn't getting enough air into me. Someone put an oxygen mask on me and told me I was first place. I didn't care. It took me almost 10 minutes before I could breath normally again.
Then I found out that not only did I finish first, I shaved almost 3 minutes off of my best time. All because I believed I was almost done. All of the belief I had that other people were just faster than me went out the window. Right then I learned that if I was willing to push myself and take on pain, I could beat anyone.
Wonderful story! Thank you for sharing it! What a great message!
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