Today was my last high school track meet. It was my final chance. I have tried, and failed, to break the 800-meter school record. I have been trying to break this record this season, each race coming seconds short. Here I am, standing on the starting line, feeling extremely anxious. My stomach hurt, and I felt sick. I wanted to break this school record so bad.

"Just shoot the gun already," I said anxious to start. Sometimes it felt like the officials prolonged the start when it came to track. The gun went off and I exploded out and went to the front of the pack. There was a girl who ran almost as fast as me, so she was some tough competition. My first lap felt pretty fast, but I wasn't sure exactly how fast it was. On the second lap, I felt myself slowing down about halfway through, but I pushed it. I crossed the finish line, looked up at the timer, and felt my heart sink. "Two minutes point 37 (2:00.37) seconds. I can't believe this. less than half a second off." I said to myself, feeling disappointed.

I walked on the infield and my coach walked over to me. "That was one hell of a race, Alyssa. Even though you didn't break the school record, you should still feel proud. You came in first place almost every race this season, and your times have only gotten better." My coach said, trying to be reassuring, but I still felt really disappointed in myself.

"Coach?" One of the track officials said, walking over. My coach turned around as the official started to speak. "There was an error with the timing system, so Alyssa here actually ran a One-minute and 59-second (1:59.00) 800. We have already made the changes and they are posted online." The official explained. "Oh my gosh!" I exclaimed. "You are a very talented runner, and I can tell you will do big things." The official said. "Thank you so much sir!" I started to say, shaking the official's hand. "This new time actually breaks my school record for the 800 meters, I thought I didn't break it, but this new and correct time means I broke it!" I said, trying to contain my excitement. The official congratulated me once again then I went online to see the new time, and it in fact was exactly a minute and 59 seconds.

I walked off the track, feeling as happy as I could be. I worked my butt off for this record, and it paid off. What a great way to end the season! I got to school the next day, and I was presented with a plague of the broken school record time. They also replaced the old school record with my new school record. I had done it. After all the countless failures, after all the countless hours of hard work, I had done it.