Nothing was planned.

I am a horrible runner. I started running when I was forced by my mother to join my middle school running club. I had hardly done a sport before in my life. I was the worst runner in the club and dreaded going to practice. I use to wish my mom would pull me out of school early so I would not have to run. I did not how to run properly, and I would just sprint ahead until I got tired and finish by walking the whole one to three miles. Needless to say, my membership in the club did not last very long.

It was not until my sophomore year of high school when I realized I liked running. That year I decided to join my school soccer team, and practically every day during the summer we would condition. I would run the drills every morning, and at some point, I realized the only thing I like about these drills was the running. During the conditioning, I was one of the few girls who could run a full lap. It was not until I had to run a mile that I realized how much I now enjoyed running. I ran my first full mile in a total of nine minutes. I remember after running my coach told us that we would run the mile again another day show improvement. We never did end up running that mile again, but I would go back to the track and rerun a mile to try to show improvement. Even if it was only by a few seconds, to me it was a huge improvement. It would not be long until I learned there was a name for this personal record. 

Two months after the soccer season ended I joined the indoor track team; not as a runner, but as a thrower. I did throwing only because my former soccer captain asked me to. I was just as bad a thrower as I was a runner. I did do a little running that track season. I was a middle distance runner and the worst runner on the team once again. I was slower than everyone else, but this time I did not give up. I still remember my first track race. I was running the six hundred meter race, three laps around the track. I finished in last place with a huge gap between the runner in front of me. That was an utter humiliation for me, to finish that badly in front of hundreds of people, but I did not feel embarrassed at all. Instead, I wanted to run in thousand meter race. I wanted to run in a long distance race where I could pace myself. That was the only race I ran that season and never received a chance to race again. At the end of the season, I still remember the feelings and thoughts I had on the bus ride home from our league meet. I did not qualify for our league meet in running or throwing, but I want to watch my teammates compete. Our boy's team ended up winning while the girls came in second. I was in awe watching my teammates. They ran so fast and with so much dedication. They help me realize that this is the sport for me. That I enjoy this sport, I enjoy my teammates, I enjoy the bus rides, and that I love running.

I decided I was not going to continue my previous year in softball and that I was going to join the outdoor track team. This was the season I was going to commit to being a full distance runner, and I had my coach's full support. I remember my first outdoor race. I was set to run the mile and of course, I was the last runner to finish, but I did not care about that, and I came to realize that it does not matter your place in the race. All that matters is how you run the race. I had a quick talk with my coach before my race, and my expected time that I was going to run this mile was to be under 9 minutes, and my coach did not tell me his expected time for me. He only told me that I would be surprised at how fast I would run. I finished my first-mile race at a time of 7:50 and that was the beginning of my running career. 

I was not as fast as all the other girls on my team, but that did not stop me. I still practiced just as hard as them. I ran every race with my heart and only cared if I improved, not if I passed anyone. I finished my outdoor season running as strong as I could, but I did not stop there. That following summer, I ran almost every day. I ran more miles that summer then I have ever run in my whole life. I went to every conditioning practice and did everything on the workout list. I did everything that was asked of me and then some. When it came time for the start of the season, I took my place the team as one of many strong runners. I was able to complete in all the repeats we ran, and I hit all my expected times. I was doing well at the start of the season and then came my unexpected injury. I remember the day it happened. It was a week before the season started and I had just run four miles that morning. I was stretching in front of my house. I was doing a twisted glute stretch, and I stood up and my whole right hip felt as if it was going to pop out. The feeling did go away, but the next day at conditioning I did the same stretch and had the same feeling. I knew something was wrong, but I did not think it was serious. 

At the beginning, I was not bothered by my hip. I went on with practice with very little pain. It then it came time for the first race of the season and I felt insignificant pain in my hip. I ran the race and I remember everything I experienced. I was stood with a group of two girls on my team. I felt that running with them was a safe choice. I found that I was able to keep up with their fast pace. I stood with them for the first part of the race, but when it came to the second part I went ahead. I broke away from the protection they provided me with and had the confidence to keep going. When I crossed the finish line, I shocked everyone on my team, including myself. I did not expect to do that great in this race, and actually, I thought the complete opposite of it. That race is still the high point in my running career, and I based all my race success off that one race, my first official cross country race. 

Sadly, everything from that point went downhill. My hip pain progressed, and soon I went from being a healthy, fast runner to being in constant pain and unable to finish a workout. It came to the point that I had to see a doctor. In mid-November, after two MRI and two X-rays, I was diagnosed with a torn labrum in both my hips. The only fix for this was surgery, and two weeks later I had my first surgery for my right hip. Two months later I had my second surgery for my left hip. Throughout this recovery process, I was constantly at physical therapy three days out of the school week. I was always trying to improve and recovery as fast as I can so I would be able to run. I was very eager to try to be back in time for my outdoor track season, but I sadly would not be fully healed by that time. 

It was near the end of the season when I was cleared to start running. That summer I continued with physical therapy for another two months and afterward I continued to run. I would run almost every day for two to three miles, but most days were a challenge for me. I did eventually work myself up to running three to four miles by the start of this upcoming cross country season. I knew going in that I would not be the great runner I was last year, and I would have to improve and work hard all season. I knew this season would be hard and I would have to push myself both mentally and physically in everything I did. 

What I went through with my injury was a traumatic and depressing experience for me, but it also taught me something powerful. Things do not always go the way I think or expect them to go. I have to learn to take what life throws at me and not fall in defeat but to come out on top. I knew if I worked hard all season and did not give up, I would get back to the person I was before this injury; just one thing would be different. I would be a stronger and more determined runner. This injury made me realize how much I love running, and how much I missed it and not take it for granted. There will be days in the future where I will not be able to run, and I need to appreciate what I can do now and take advantage of it. Running is now the sport I love.

- Ambarlyn Angeletti