My Final Laps

All through my high school athletic career I had numerous injuries: shin splints, a painful growth on my heel, a badly strained hip flexor, exercise induced asthma my sophomore year of track, and patellar tendinitis. All of these hurt, but a little time off and proper care resolved them (except the asthma). However, my senior year of cross country proved to be the most painful and long lasting when I got plantar fasciitis three weeks before districts. Plantar fasciitis is when the tissue on the bottom of your foot becomes inflamed and hurts so bad you can hardly walk sometimes.

After trying numerous different tape jobs I was able to find one that got me through districts to state. State was a disaster. Hopes and goals were not fulfilled and I walked off my last cross country course heartbroken. That winter consisted of trying to prepare for track while balancing time off to try to heal my foot. February rolled around and I still couldn't run more than 20 minutes before the pain would start. A fellow track coach and teacher asked me one day in class if I was ready for track season, to which I replied no and explained my injury. He told me he has struggled with plantar fasciitis for years and finally found a way to relieve it. He started working on me almost every day until the first day of track. Halfway through the first week of track I came back early from a run (not even making it 10 minutes later) hardly able to walk because of the pain now in BOTH feet and close to tears. I went to the head track coach and told him I didn't think I could make it through the track season. About the same time, the other coach who had been working on my foot came up and listened to the conversation. He worked me out some more and told me he was willing to help me through the track season without pain and get to the point at the end where I wouldn't need him anymore.

Every day I got worked out before and/or after my runs. My event coach trained me hard when required. And all the coaches worked with me to make sure I could do my events without pain. The meet before districts I ran the 1600 and had the 4x400 right after. I hadn't had pain in my foot for quite a while at that point and wasn't worried about running the 1600, but by the time I reached the 800 of the 1600 I wanted to stop because the pain was so bad. I finished and the coaches pulled me out of the 4x400 instead of pushing me more. I wondered what I was going to do because the 1600 was the event the coaches counted on me to do well and help our team a lot at state, but if it caused me pain it wasn't worth it to risk my other events. The following Monday after discussing it with each coach individually, we thought it best to run me in 800s and 400s only.

I qualified for state in all of my events, I couldn't be happier and more thankful for the coaches who helped me get there. State felt like a dream even though I had been there previously, it felt different probably because I knew it was all over after that meet. My 4x400 was my last event and we needed to place 5th or 4th to help our girls team secure a trophy. I won't ever forget seeing one of my coaches at the gate after the race and holding up three fingers signifying our third place trophy, the first trophy for my high school since 2002. As I walked off the track for the last time I was filled with a sense of pride, gratitude, and painful sadness. Injuries never held me back. I was a four time cross country state athlete, one time All-State, two time state track athlete, all required me to fight through an injury. I am thankful for my coaches who supported and trained me, my teammates, and for my injuries for teaching me that I can overcome anything.

- Makenzie Jacobsen ( @Mak_Jacobsen )