Chapter 5

I was now at a point in my new life where I was finally growing into my body and although I still had some growing to do, I could finally compete at the high school level. I tried out for the cross-country track team. I had the coach as my geometry teacher the year before. After Coach Nelson had us warm up the first day of practice, he then took us to the track. He had us run laps to see where we were in our ability. He wanted us to run laps on a two minute pace. There were about twenty guys and fifteen girls trying out. The guys started on the laps and just kept going until some of the guys started to drop out. Eight minute miles are a good pace but I was already running 6 minute miles for five miles six days a week and swimming a half mile so I knew I could go for quite a while at his specified pace. After five miles, we had four guys drop out and a couple making some noises that showed they were under stress. After ten miles, we were down to ten guys.

Coach asked if we wanted to pick up the pace and a couple guys gave the cheer to indicate they did. I just kept my head down and followed the leader. I did not want to upset anyone and would let my legs do the talking. They kicked up the pace but we were already 10 miles in so they only brought it down to around 7 minute miles. I knew the coach wasn't going to have us run a marathon so I just kept up.

We lost three guys in the next mile and two more on the following mile. We were down to five after thirteen miles. The coach told us that we were going to run a total of fifteen miles for whoever could keep up.

I still let the others set the pace and after two more miles, I was just pacing behind the leader. The other three had dropped back and the coach had them cool down and stretch. I finished behind the lead runner, a senior named Gary. I could have passed him but it no one had mentioned that this was a race so I didn't need to make anyone look bad.

Gary knew that I still had some energy in my legs. I walked another 150 yards then turned and walked back before stretching out my calves and hamstrings. Gary was lying on his back in the infield trying to catch his breath. Coach called us all to the stands.

He started his speech, "Well guys we have twenty guys that are trying out for the team. We will run seven people when we compete and they will count those with the top five times and places towards the team score. If you finish first we will get one point if you finish eighth we will get eight points. Then, they will add the top five places together and the team with the lowest total will be the winning team. There will be alternates and people will get hurt so we will want at least ten on the team but only the top seven will compete. Based on what we saw here today you should have a good idea where you stand against some of the others on the team. Not all races will be the same length but most will be between 3 and 3 1/2 miles. Tomorrow we will run 3.5 miles for time. I am not making any cuts at this time, but I want you to know where you stand and how much you need to do to be competitive. I will see you tomorrow."

I headed back to the locker room for a shower and then stopped by the trainer's office to say hi to Doc. He had told me that I could work with him whenever I was between seasons. He had also asked me to stop by and let him know how I had done. I think he was hoping I would have been one of the first to drop out so I could help him out. He was happy to hear that I had done well and Coach Nelson came in while we were talking. He told me I had run well today. He asked what time I ran the 5k in? I told him that I had never raced that distance, but ran 5 miles most mornings with a 6 minute pace. He said that that was a good start but even 5k was a short race. We would be doing a lot of interval training for speed and not the long runs as we did today very often.

The next day I took the morning off. I had run twenty miles the day before with my morning run and then fifteen at practice. Coach gave us the route but we would be away from the school until the last quarter mile around the track so the coach could see how we finished. Only fifteen guys showed up today. We started the run at a quick 5 1/2 minute mile pace and went passed the two-mile marker right at eleven minutes. There were only four guys in the lead pack and another three about 100 yards behind. I didn't see the others since there were trees and turns on the course. We shifted gears and did the third mile in 4 3/4 minutes. I pulled ahead of Gary as we came into the stadium and did the last 440 yards in 55 seconds. I had beaten Gary by 50 yards and he had pulled away from Derrick by another 200 yards. I had no clue how fast the high school boys ran in competitive cross-country meets. I hoped we were going to be OK.

Coach seemed pleased. The next three were a minute behind Derrick so we were about one minute forty-five seconds from 1st to 6th place over 5k. My time had been around 16 minutes for the 3.2 miles. I was winded after the run but recovered quickly and after a couple minutes I was back to breathing normally. Coach Nelson talked about our training schedule and told us that he would finalize the schedule that week but that our first meet would be in two weeks. Coach had us run laps alternating between all out sprints followed by a slow jog.

After talking to Gary, I found out a couple of things. First, he had been the team leader the last year. Second, he had done well but the team wasn't that strong. Last, it wasn't their best season. Derrick had run last year but for another school about fifteen miles away. His family had moved over the summer. He was in a different District so he had not run against Gary.

The good thing about cross-country is that the men and women's team compete at the same meets. Like track and swimming, the events are separate but they combine the meets so the teams can travel together to and from the meet. The men cheer for the women when they compete and the women cheer for the men as well. Of the many girls that I met, I became friendlier with two of them more than I did with others. One was in my class (Anna) and the other was a sophomore named Michelle. They were both on the soccer team and used cross-county as a way to stay in shape during the off-season. I saw them around while we were practicing and finally met them on the way to the first meet.

The girls went first and we cheered them on. There were only four schools competing at the first meet. Anna and Michelle finished 2nd and third on the team and were both in the top 10 overall. They were happy to get the first meet behind them. I was going to take a quick warm up run while the girls were cooling down so I ran alongside and told them that they ran well. They turned back to get their sweats on and I ran another half mile to get ready.

Gary, Derrick and I were going to try to pace each other while the next four on our team were going to try to do the same. I was used to pacing myself since I had been running for a few years. We took off at just over a 5-minute mile pace to try to separate from the pack but also keep all of us at the right pace to finish well. At the halfway point, we came back towards the finish line before turning back away for the second half of the race. The course shape was like a peanut so the fans could see more of the race. When we came out of the tree line, the path widened and I heard all the girls and our coaches cheering for us. I heard Anna and Michelle calling my name and giving encouragement. We three were in the top ten and looking good overall.

Gary started to pick up the pace and I fell in behind him with Derrick behind me. We pulled away from some of the other runners and with 1/2 of a mile to go Gary and me, along with two other runners from other schools found ourselves in the top four. I am not a sprinter so I started my kick earlier than most. I picked up the pace to around a 70-second quarter mile pace, which is a 4 min 40 second mile. I passed Gary and the other two and I could hear Gary fall in behind me and with 200 yards to go give me a cheer of encouragement, as he couldn't keep up the pace. I finished first in my first meet and Gary finished second. Derrick just got beat for sixth and we had two other runners finish 11th and 14th for a 34-point team total. Edgewater came in second with 42. The girl's team finished second to Colonial High. We all did well as a team and we had six in the top ten. The coaches were happy with the performance.

This is one of the times when having the experience of going through life once and not having the teenage fear of rejection, helped out. I gave all the guys high fives. (They didn't fist bump yet) I gave the girls all hugs and congratulated them. I also announced since it was still Saturday morning that anyone that wanted to come over and swim was more than welcome and I would supply all of the food. There were a few freshmen and sophomores on the team but only two made the top seven and were able to compete. Some still were riding with the team to cheer us on. What that meant is that most were old enough to drive. Almost everyone wanted to celebrate with the team so most made it over to hang out by the pool and have lunch. When mom picked me up at the school, I told her about inviting some people over. She appeared to be a little upset with me. I told her to stop at the store and I would take care of everything. I knew the maids had been by the day before so I guess she just wanted more notice or less noise.

I got some burgers, and brats, soda and chips. The store had some premade slaw and I picked up a watermelon and some cookies from the bakery. I was in the car ten minutes after we arrived at the store.

The meet was over by 10 am so people started to arrive around 11:30. I was manning the grill and everyone else arrived by 12 pm except Tom who had to finish the lawn before his parents would let him leave. As usual, the girls' team was all sitting and eating together and the guys were all sitting separately, and eating together. I was the last to get a plate, but instead of sitting with the guys, I went and sat down with the girls. When Tom arrived ten minutes later, he grabbed some food, then came, and sat down with the girls and me. As people went back to the line to get seconds or to refresh their drinks, the mix evened out and spread out until the girls and guys were all comingled.

It was not hot as it was still in the 70's. I took off my shirt, set it aside so I could get in the pool, and heard a wolf whistle from one of the girls. That started a trend and as each got ready for the pool there were more whistles and then cat calls. It was all in fun but it was interesting to see who said what and to whom.

We swam and played and then a couple girls got up on the guys shoulders for some chicken fights. No one was drunk so I didn't expect it to get too rowdy. Anna did get up on my shoulders to go against Michelle who picked Tom for her steed. I held onto Anna and then reached forward to pull on Michelle's legs to help us win. We had fun and played four times before Michelle got tired of losing. Anna felt good on my shoulders so instead of dumping her when we were done, I slid her around so that when she slid off, she went over my shoulder, down my chest and ended with her in front of me with my hands on her ass. Before I let her go, I gave her a quick peck on the lips and congratulated her on her chicken fighting skills. She didn't slap me, which is always a good sign. I did get a slight smile from her before she swam off. Everyone eventually had to leave and I picked up around the pool. My parents were actually pretty cool about the kids coming over and even congratulated me on my race and my team's finish.

We did have some races during the week after school, but we did most of them on Saturday mornings. After the Saturday meets, it became a habit to come over, hang out around my pool and relax. The teams were becoming closer. Both teams had a good season and received invitations to the District tournament. I didn't have the quick feet to beat most people in the last 100 yards so I needed to start my break away further out from the finish line. I made mistakes by starting too early and at other times, too late, so I lost a few but overall I had a good year.

The District races were going to be a true test of how we stacked up against the other teams. We had all pushed hard throughout the season. I figured if I was going to spend time practicing I might as well do it right, and work hard. The coach gave us the drills to work on our endurance and speed. Derrick had improved a lot. With all his work, he could now stay with us up until the last 1/2 mile when I would start my kick. By that time, he could maintain the original pace and still hold on for a good finishing spot.

Lake Brantley had one runner that was very strong. He would do things during the race to try to throw off our concentration. If we were running along on a wooded trail, he would try to edge you into a tree or cut you off so you would have to break stride to keep from tripping. He was trying to slow the pace so that he would have more energy to compete at the finish. I tried passing on the right and he used a tree as a pick. I tried the left and he again cut in front of me. I finally faked to the right and then lunged to the left. He went to cut me off and was a step too late so I was already past him. I did "accidently" drive my knee into his hamstring as he tried to cut in front of me. He went down like a brick but we kept going.

I ended up getting beat by an even stronger runner form Apopka and Gary finished fourth behind the Colonial runner. Derrick finished 10th and said he had to jump over the Brantley runner that was still lying on the ground when he passed him. The coach called me aside and asked what happened. It appears that one of the Brantley runners was accusing me of interference. I told him, "That was the pot calling the kettle black." I explained what happened and gave him the name of the other five runners in our pack.

The Lake Brantley coach was ranting, raving, and calling for my disqualification. The other runners all backed up my story and the final ruling was that the race results would stand. Although I didn't finish first, the team did well enough to move forward. So our team would be heading to the State tournament ... The girls' team finished fourth in the District and therefore, they would not run at the State tournament. We had grown very close as a team. It seemed like all the guys were feeling very down in sympathy for the girls and the girls were all very happy for the guys.

It was a weird day around the pool. I still spent time and was friendly with Anna and Michelle but Michelle started dating Tom after the first pool party and Anna just never got comfortable with our 2-year age difference. It didn't help that I stopped by her house one day and met her mom. She did not want her daughter robbing the cradle and let her know that I was not an appropriate boyfriend. It would be funny later on after her parents divorced and her mom went to work as a secretary at Merrill Lynch. When I transferred my account to the local office, she saw the value and could only dream about what could have happened if her wonderful Anna, (who married the UPS driver) had become my girlfriend. He was a great guy and they did have a good marriage and a wonderful family. They just didn't have the millions of dollars her mom had to deal with in my account every day.

A couple of weeks later at the State tournament, I finished 12th and Gary finished right behind me. He had been training with me and over the season had perfected the longer kick for the end of the race. As a result, he could now stay on my heels and at the State meet, he almost passed me. Derrick had another strong day and finished 25th. Our team came in third overall. Coach Nelson was very happy.

We found the course much tougher up in Gainesville for the State tournament since there were more hills than we were accustomed to. The good news was that the coaches from the University of FL and FSU were there. There were other colleges present but I felt that none of them offered what I wanted to justify my attending there.

I enjoyed the small team environment of the cross-country team. They asked me to go out for track later in the year and I did. It was similar to cross-country racing except the team was much larger and we ran on a track in circles. I did meet new people and expanded my circle of friends. I had grown more and was now just less than 6 foot. I would ultimately reach 6' 3" over the next few years, but my face was still a baby face. Most of the kids knew I was still fifteen but the good news was that the freshmen were only fourteen so the gap was getting smaller.

On the track team, I ran the mile and the two-mile events. I also helped the team on the distance medley by running the final one-mile leg. What this added up to was four miles total over the course of a meet. However, depending on the size of the meet, some didn't include the distance medley. I did well but didn't enjoy the amount of time for the total meet. I spent a lot of time just waiting to run. During one of the meets, I did meet a sophomore high jumper that was cute. Her name was Courtney and she was almost as tall as I was. She did well and was usually in the top five. We had a senior on our team that beat her every meet. One or two of the other schools also had some better jumpers. I was running the mile in a 4:35 average time and ran my best at a night meet, which was cooler, where I ran a 4:28 mile.

During the meets, they expected me to act like an athlete and not become over-tired by running all over the place after my events. In spite of this, I did drag my camera with me to the meets and my teammates enjoyed both the action and candid shots I took and gave to them. Courtney tended to wear a tight uniform so that nothing would hang down and catch on the bar as she did her high jumps. I got a nice picture of her lying on a blanket between jumps with her tight ass in those tight shorts and her face gently resting on her arm. I showed them to her and mentioned that they were very good but would be better with a little less exterior coverage. I got a surprise myself when she told me that maybe we could arrange that one day.

Gary was dating a girl on the team that ran middle distances. Her name was Karen. I asked Gary about double dating. He was not big on the idea until I offered to pay for gas and dinner. I also mentioned that my parents went out a lot on the weekends and that if we were double dating on a regular basis, we might be able to hang out at my empty house from time to time. I hated not having a car or a license but it seemed to work out. After I got Gary to agree, I went and asked Courtney to go out with me to the movies and dinner. I told her it would be a double date since I couldn't drive. That worked out well for her because I think her mom was more accepting of a double date than a boy / girl car date for her sophomore daughter.

Chapter 6 »