Miserable and Memorable

**I just realized that this blog was never posted...so here ya go!**

A recent practice reminded me of a blog I have been meaning to write. I have spent a great deal of time exploring the memorable experiences of Bellarmine teams outside of their actual participation in their sport. However, I want to touch on an aspect of practice that can also be a very team-bonding experience: the worst practices.

Anyone who is an athlete or is a former athlete can easily tell you about a miserable practice which he/she and their teammates suffered through, most likely cursing the coaches the entire way through and repeatedly asking themselves why in the world they do this “for fun.” In the end, however, these are the practices we all remember most, and share stories about later. In the end, these are the practices I am actually most proud of.

Last Thursday in the midst of running 250-meter repeats, there came a slight trickle that, in a matter of minutes, became nothing short of a downpour. The teammate I was working out with looked at me and we sort of just shrugged and stepped back up to the line and took off. We could see nothing but gray in front of us and the track had suddenly become the spitting image of a creek bed. In that “short” 250-meters everything I was wearing was soaked through and through.

This is not actually the miserable practice which I first referred to. In fact, this practice was not all too miserable as the rain only lasted about five minute (long enough to drench us) and the practice was nearly over when it did hit.

It did bring flashbacks to a rainy practice about a month prior, though. With storm clouds lurking above, my group of about five mid-distance/sprint girls stepped up to the line to begin a workout that would consist of a 1,000-meter, 800, 300, 300 and a 400. Dreading the workout, one of my comrades muttered, “I wish it would just downpour right now!” Little did she know that a downpour would have no effects on our workout.

No more than 50 meters into that first 1,000 meters did the clouds burst open. I ran on, in the back of my mind thinking that the rain would have to lessen or we would take cover at least when we finished this portion of the practice.

Finishing the 1,000 breathless and my shoes feeling pretty soggy, the rain just continued. My coach came to us after an extremely short break and asked if we were ready for the 800 and to “toe the line.” The rain began to come down harder and I watched as teammates from the other workout groups ran for cover in the equipment supply building nearby. So…we weren’t stopping—yet.

The rain only picked up through the next 800. The inside lane of the track became one giant puddle of standing water at least two inches deep. My feet seemed to suction to the ground in every step, making it nearly impossible to pick up my knees and actually run—not to mention I couldn’t see a thing due to the heavy rain and the steams of water rushing down my face.

The rain only continued just as heavily so we only continued just as hard. Not only had we all become at least ten pounds heavier due to the amount of water absorbed in our shoes and clothing, but the distances we’d been running had taken its toll as well. By the time we reached the second 300, no one in the group even cared about the rain or our condition anymore—what were we going to do about it at this point? We ran on as our teammates stood watching and cheering from the dry quarters of the storage building.

It would be that by the time we had finished that last 400 the rain had tapered off and everyone else had made their way back to the track. Practice was winding down—thank goodness! I was exhausted!

Miserable and slightly insane? Indeed it was. But what do you think the five of us talked about the rest of the night and how many people do you think we shared our story with? Suddenly we found ourselves very proud of the fact that not only had we made it through the practice, but also that we had been put through such a practice.

Do I remember the practices where my teammates and I went on a 30 or 40 minute run? Do I remember the practices where we did that same workout under sunny skies? No, not really—and if I do they are never spoken of due to their lack of meaning. However, now that the misery of that rainy day’s practice is well over, my teammates and I constantly look back on it with a smile and think, “Yeah, we did that.”