Read Online Missouri Loves Company (Rip Lane Book 1) by W.J. Costello - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: W.J. Costello
Ads: Link
toy was a pogo stick. I used to spend hours at a time bouncing up and down on it. The thing made a lot of noise. The incessant sound must have driven the neighbors crazy. Squeak-chunk squeak-chunk squeak-chunk .
As a kid I never realized how strong my legs were getting from all those hours on the pogo stick. The realization came later in life. It came when I was in high school.
I used to get a ride to high school from an older student who lived in my neighborhood. One year he decided to try out for the school’s cross-country team. Since he was my ride home, I decided to try out too. Otherwise I would have just been waiting around for him after school every day.
Both of us made the team. He was in twelfth grade and I was in ninth grade, yet I could run faster than him. In fact I could run faster than everybody on the team. Which surprised me.
It surprised my parents too. They said the pogo stick must have developed my runner’s legs. I think they were right.
At cross-country meets that year I won a number of trophies and plaques and ribbons. It encouraged me. I kept running.
The following year I ran even faster. There were more trophies, plaques, and ribbons. More encouragement.
Then, in eleventh grade, I switched schools. At the new school I joined the cross-country team and had a stellar season. It helped me make friends.
Track season began after cross-country season ended. I joined the track team as a distance runner. My trophy shelf got more crowded.
In twelfth grade I did the same thing. I joined the cross-country team and then the track team. On the cross-country team I won the state meet. On the track team I broke the school records in the mile and the two mile. I was voted Most Valuable Player by the members of the track team, and Athlete of the Year by the student body. The plaques went on my trophy shelf.
My trophy shelf is bare now. All the awards are gone. I got rid of them. Nobody cares how fast I ran in high school. It doesn’t matter. What matters is the person I became because of the experience.
The most important part of that experience was my track coach. I owe a lot to him. He instilled in me the quality of self-discipline. It is the quality that underlies all great achievement.
My track coach was the best teacher I ever had. I learned many lifelong lessons from him. I learned how to develop strategies and set goals. I learned how to harness my willpower. I learned how to make short-term sacrifices for long-term gains.
My track coach used to help me develop long-term strategies for beating my opponents. He also helped me set a series of short-term goals to achieve each long-term strategy. Daily goals. Weekly goals. Monthly goals. Each time I met a goal it made me feel good. It made the short-term sacrifices bearable. They were tough sacrifices. My time. My diet. My physical comfort. My social life. Tough sacrifices made me tougher. They made me do things I needed to do but didn’t want to do. They made me a track star.
The self-discipline I developed in high school served me well over the years. It helped me in college. It helped me in my career. And it has helped me ever since.
Running is still a big part of my life. Four or five times a week I go for a run. Usually I run for at least half an hour. For health benefits the amount of time I spend running is more important than how far I run and how fast I run.
Researchers have found that runners have a thirty percent lower risk of death from all causes, and a forty-five percent lower risk of death from heart attack or stroke. Running prolongs life.
There are other benefits to running. Mental benefits. Running builds confidence. Especially for those who lose weight and gain a better self-image. Running provides a feeling of empowerment. It relieves stress. It clears your mind. It strengthens your mind.
I am a lifelong runner. Running has made my life better.
And it all started because of a pogo stick I had when I was a kid.
Squeak-chunk
As a kid I never realized how strong my legs were getting from all those hours on the pogo stick. The realization came later in life. It came when I was in high school.
I used to get a ride to high school from an older student who lived in my neighborhood. One year he decided to try out for the school’s cross-country team. Since he was my ride home, I decided to try out too. Otherwise I would have just been waiting around for him after school every day.
Both of us made the team. He was in twelfth grade and I was in ninth grade, yet I could run faster than him. In fact I could run faster than everybody on the team. Which surprised me.
It surprised my parents too. They said the pogo stick must have developed my runner’s legs. I think they were right.
At cross-country meets that year I won a number of trophies and plaques and ribbons. It encouraged me. I kept running.
The following year I ran even faster. There were more trophies, plaques, and ribbons. More encouragement.
Then, in eleventh grade, I switched schools. At the new school I joined the cross-country team and had a stellar season. It helped me make friends.
Track season began after cross-country season ended. I joined the track team as a distance runner. My trophy shelf got more crowded.
In twelfth grade I did the same thing. I joined the cross-country team and then the track team. On the cross-country team I won the state meet. On the track team I broke the school records in the mile and the two mile. I was voted Most Valuable Player by the members of the track team, and Athlete of the Year by the student body. The plaques went on my trophy shelf.
My trophy shelf is bare now. All the awards are gone. I got rid of them. Nobody cares how fast I ran in high school. It doesn’t matter. What matters is the person I became because of the experience.
The most important part of that experience was my track coach. I owe a lot to him. He instilled in me the quality of self-discipline. It is the quality that underlies all great achievement.
My track coach was the best teacher I ever had. I learned many lifelong lessons from him. I learned how to develop strategies and set goals. I learned how to harness my willpower. I learned how to make short-term sacrifices for long-term gains.
My track coach used to help me develop long-term strategies for beating my opponents. He also helped me set a series of short-term goals to achieve each long-term strategy. Daily goals. Weekly goals. Monthly goals. Each time I met a goal it made me feel good. It made the short-term sacrifices bearable. They were tough sacrifices. My time. My diet. My physical comfort. My social life. Tough sacrifices made me tougher. They made me do things I needed to do but didn’t want to do. They made me a track star.
The self-discipline I developed in high school served me well over the years. It helped me in college. It helped me in my career. And it has helped me ever since.
Running is still a big part of my life. Four or five times a week I go for a run. Usually I run for at least half an hour. For health benefits the amount of time I spend running is more important than how far I run and how fast I run.
Researchers have found that runners have a thirty percent lower risk of death from all causes, and a forty-five percent lower risk of death from heart attack or stroke. Running prolongs life.
There are other benefits to running. Mental benefits. Running builds confidence. Especially for those who lose weight and gain a better self-image. Running provides a feeling of empowerment. It relieves stress. It clears your mind. It strengthens your mind.
I am a lifelong runner. Running has made my life better.
And it all started because of a pogo stick I had when I was a kid.
Squeak-chunk
Similar Books
