Make it the race of my life

Why ah, am I so affected by everything people say nowadays? I don't mean that in a bad way lol Hahah as in.. like the previous post about being motivated. This time it's by Fiona Gan :)

Fiona texted me and it ended with : Study hard babe! The finishing line is near!

I guess, again, it may seem trivial to many. But let me paint a picture in attempt to show you how that line has affected me so.

"The finishing line" will probably be just another metaphor to most; symbolizing finishing just any everyday task. It, however, represents something very significant to runners, and being one myself, I fully understand the meaning of "the finishing line", taking it literally.

I guess fellow runners will probably understand this fully, what it means to race, beating all competition, to the finish line.

They're different, 100m and 400m. I won't include 800m and 1500m into the comparison cos then they'll just make it a whole lot more complicated. So, 100m and 400m it is.

100m; a short sprint, you'll reach the finishing line soon enough; 13/14 seconds at max?

It being a sprint, you go all out, you put in everything you have, you just run your fastest all the way and when you cross the finish line, you bend double, pant and gulp down air. The race is over.

If you're fastest, you get first place. Congrats. It's all good. Not much stamina needed, just speed.

400m; now, this is different. A little more tricky. A little more unpredictable as to who will win. I would know, having run both myself. You don't just finish in 13/14 seconds. It takes much longer, 1 minute 12 seconds, which in running time, is long. (That's my time lah you just insert your time or smtg lol)

You need stamina. But you also need speed, especially for the last 100m. You need to run nearest to the inner side of your lane during the curves, to cut down the distance as the circumference is smaller that way.

You need to make sure you don't die halfway, make sure your timing's right, make sure you don't push yourself till your calf & thigh muscles cramp up. Most of all you gotto make sure, if you've been leading throughout the whole 300m, that you don't pancit during that last 100m.

The last 100m, being a straight stretch, allows you a really good view of the finishing line. You just want to finish the race and finish first. You just want to, no, need to, reach it. Sometimes you're just so tired you want it all to be over, to have your midriff snap that yellow ribbon. To rest them tired leg muscles. The adrenaline rush empowers you and you try to keep pushing yourself although your thighs already feel like iron. You feel as if you're gona tumble forward if your body tries to go any faster as your legs can't keep up.

That last stretch is, by far, the most tedious part of the race. You either make it or break it. You pancit, and somebody with a better strategy who's been just a step behind all this while, overtakes you and you get 2nd, after all the effort you've put in to remain first during the 300m before that. Or, you might even get 3rd. Completely die(walking) or cramp up, you get last. Faint, and you won't even get a placing. There goes your race.

But, oh how fortune smiles on you if you manage to sustain your energy all the way and finish first! How exhilarating and familiar that feeling is to me! I've done it. I've made my sports house, my school, my parents, my friends, my whoever else, and most importantly, I've made myself proud. Oh, that wondrous feeling!

But see now, everyone who finishes first, had to go through that period of longing, pressure, tension, stress and desperation to reach that finish line. To charge towards it with everything one has. The finishing line is so near! It's just 50m ahead, I just have to get there and end this tiring race. And, ah, I finish in first place and I'm ecstatic. I'm on fire. I'm thrilled. All the training, all the hard work, paid off.


See? That's how I view Fiona's sentence.

The finishing line is so near! It. Is. SO. Near. After the 300m, that last 100m bit ahead is approaching. I know what it feels like to want to finish a 400m race. Oh, how the leg muscles cry out for relief! But, you need to get to the finish line to end it.
Whether you finish 1st is a different story, you just have to finish the race.


And this is how I feel about the upcoming A2 exams too I guess.
I am currently running the race of my life.
The finishing line is so near!
Study your hardest, end that race, and hopefully, in first place.


p/s: My grammar and tenses are all over the place but whatever, I just had to unload the words hahaha and no time to proofread lol :)