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The Best Practice Ever | 3.06.01
I remember my best track practice ever. Maybe it was my best morning ever. It was such a beautiful morning. The weather was just perfect - crisp and sunny with very few clouds. Practice was scheduled for 9:00 am on a late Saturday morning in early spring. I was still in bed around 8:00 when my friend called. She needed a ride to work and asked me if I could drop her off at the mall. Feeling the obligation that a longtime friendship usually warrants, I got up, washed, and went to pick her up. She asked if I had eaten breakfast and I told her no. She suggested that we go to Sunnyside Deli. She bought me breakfast there; I think it was bagel and orange juice. I remember she tried to buy a pack of cigarettes because her boyfriend had given her a pack of Lites that she found very tasteless. But, she had forgotten to bring her ID and being a young-looking 18 year-old, nobody would have believed her to be of age. We sat in front of my car on the steps of Sunnyside Deli. She complained about how bad the cigarettes tasted but smoked one anyway. Knowing that I was just on my way to a track practice, she tried to smoke away from me. After I had finished eating, I drove her to the mall and on the way there, she listened to this CD that her sister had burned. It had a bunch of techno and miscellaneous songs on it. When we got to the mall, she told me that I could keep the CD because she had another copy. She gave me a quick hug and went off to work. I was pleased that my driving service had netted me a free breakfast and a music CD. I was also very much awake at this time and ready for practice. When I got to the track, there were only a handful of kids there. I did my warm-up lap and stretched for a few minutes. I ran part of the workout at about half-speed because this was a non-serious Saturday morning workout. I went on to do some long jump drills and then ended the day with some high hurdles. The practice wasn't a display of my athletecism at its peak or an unforgettable exhaustive session. It was just a nice day and everything had a pleasant air about it. By the time I was done, there were only three people out on the track. Me, my friend, and the coach. It was such a nice day and it was as if we had the track all to ourselves. I looked around the green fields and the bright red track and stored the wonderful image in my head. If I ever want to remember what it was like being an athlete at my high school, I can just recall that morning and picture the perfection of the best practice. |
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