This monday we had our first cross country practice at highland road park. It was not so enjoyable. Highland road park is basically a hilly grassland where runners can practice running. Well after a long day of school that was the last place I wanted to be. When I first got off the bus, my water in my hand dripping off my fingertips, I felt the itchy grass already sticking to my boney legs. Coach Cole told us to stretch and hit a mile. As I start on my mile, my knees feel weak but I know I have to push through this practice to make me better. Then about 12 seconds went by, and I slowly start to walk the rest of the way. I gave up. There was no way I could run in the heat like this. I was far to tired.

When I got back to the cross country group, I was breathing in and out, so short of breath. I was so worn out and I feel like Coach Cole could see it. He told me I could sit out the next lap and catch my breath. I pulled up my shirt and felt my cold stomach. A cold stomach means you burned calories, so I was excited about that. Twenty minutes went by and practice was over. I got in the car and turned the air conditioning up on full blast!