SRLA season before and during the pandemic

In seventh grade, many people started applying for the track team, also known as SRLA. I soon decided to apply for the SRLA team because I wanted a distraction and thankfully, I got in.

During the practices, we would run a certain amount of time. As the practices continued, more miles were added and we only had a certain amount of time to complete the miles. However, the practices weren’t that hard because we were able to talk to our teammates and goof around here and then. During long runs, we took small breaks where we were able to eat snacks and chat. We also got the chance to have breakfast as a group. The experience was pretty fun and exciting. Towards the end of the season, we had to keep our carbs up so we ate lunch at a Italian restaurant. For lunch, we had appetizers and then pepperoni pizza and pasta with some garlic bread. After we ate, we got desserts and certificates were given to us by our coach, Mr. Lo. Practices were normally 3-4 times a week after school. The day before the marathon, we went to an event where we got special t- shirts and a bag to carry our stuff in. We each had the opportunity to walk around the event. However, we had to be back at a certain time and place. On the day of the marathon, we had to be at school early in the morning. We checked in, used the restroom, and stretched. Once the marathon started I felt chills but after a little I started feeling warmer. There were multiple stations with water and other drinks. The stations also provided snacks such as fruit granola bars, gummies and other delicious snacks. The first 5 and last 5 miles were the most difficult but with people cheering me on I was able to complete the marathon. After crossing the finish line, they gave me my medal, water and some snacks. I felt really tired and I had horrible back pain but we still had to walk another 2 miles to get food and our hoodie. The food gave us enough carbs and it had an amazing flavor. Afterwards, I checked out and went home.

During the second season, the pandemic was in existence so we had to do our practices on our own. This made it harder to complete the practice because you had to do it on your own time and you had to go through your own path. Wearing a mask made it more difficult to breathe. You also didn’t get the experience to be around teammates. We weren’t able to go out and eat or to go to events. Our last run was only 18 miles because we still had to do it on our own. Even though it was split into three runs of 6 miles, it felt more tough. You don’t get the same energy to run. It starts getting boring and frustrating over time because you don’t have someone to talk to or to have the experience with you. There’s a point where you lose your patience and you want to quit right away. You get overwhelmed because you don’t have enough time to do the miles or you don’t have a supervisor to go with you. That was probably the worst feeling I had during the second season. 

Overall, being around people made the SRLA experience very enjoyable until the pandemic started. I wouldn’t recommend joining the season during a pandemic unless you want to feel the frustration.