Chapter 3
Olivia spent the rest of the practice watching the other runners train for their events. No one else seemed to have any trouble with their distances. Jessica did a great job. She came in first in her sprinting group.
Great, Olivia thought. Now I look even worse. If I run this badly in practice, imagine what an actual race will be like. I can’t do it. There’s no way.
Jessica came up to Olivia after practice. “What happened out there?” her friend asked. “We just went running, and you were totally fine. 3200 meters is only a couple miles. You run more than that all the time.”
“I don’t know,” Olivia replied. “I just panicked. I felt like everyone was watching, and I was going to come in last. Everything just fell apart.”
“You’re a great runner,” Jessica said. “I doubt you would have come in last. You were probably just having an off day. I’m sure you’ll do better next time.”
“Yeah, maybe,” Olivia agreed. She hoped Jessica was right, but privately she wasn’t so sure.