I Love to Run

[i]There is absolutely no way I can maintain this pace,[/i] she thought to herself.

They. Will. Catch. Me.

One foot in front of the other, just keep going, whatever pep talk she could muster, she did, just to keep ahead of her pursuers.

The rain was certainly not helpful, coming down hard enough to sting a little against her skin. That slight pain was nothing in comparison to the burning breathlessness she felt in her lungs at the moment.

[i]I'm not going to make it!![/i] she thought to herself as her pursuers continued to close the gap between their position and hers.

However, she was absolutely wrong.

She [i]did[/i] make it. She made it across the finish line [i]just[/i] ahead of the second place finisher who had come within two or three yards of her at the end of the race.

Her legs ached, she couldn't breathe, and she felt like she was going to throw up. Yet, tears of joy fell on her face, as she had just revealed to herself how much of a badass she actually was.

(what I imagine my youngest felt when she won her first race as a middle school cross country athlete)